Beneath the Mask
by xX Midnight Lucifer Xx
Summary: What if Sirius had a twin? What if she was sent away to live with a branch family since they were ten? What if she was forced to against her will and left without a word? Now...what if she transferred into Hogwarts in their 6th year? RemusxOC later on
1. At a Loss

Beneath the Mask

Summary: What if Sirius had a twin? What if she had been sent away to live with a branch family since they were ten? What if she was forced against her will and left without a word? Now...What if she was transferred into Hogwarts in their 6th year?

Enter Celeste Black, Sirius' long lost twin sister with all her problems trailing behind her. Death follows her every step. Sirius is chasing her across the grounds, hoping to get his younger sister back. Many mysteries surround the new Black and her sudden appearance at Hogwarts, which is threatening to engulf everyone into its depths.

All the while, James has been trying to woo Lily into his arms. Remus is busy juggling his school work, Lycanthropy, a messy break with his ex, a friend diving head first into insanity and a feisty girl who happen to be playing with the strings to his hectic life. As the dark wizards and witches throw a fit over the disarray Celeste has left in her wake.

AN: No flames please. Reviews are welcome. I apologize in advance for any OOCness for I only read book 3 a decade ago but watched all the movies to date.

Disclaimer: If you recognise something from somewhere, then I most likely don't own it, him, her, or thing. Most of the places, spells and characters will belong to J.K. Rowling. There are a bunch of OCs just because there's not enough people to make a class and I own them (and probably anything else that you don't recognise). (Please copy this into your mind and projected onto the other chapters. It's annoying for me to write and for you to read it every time. ^^).

PLEASE READ BEFORE THE STORY!!! THANK YOU!

This story is set in the Marauder's Era, beginning in September 1st of 1975. Bellatrix, Andromeda, Narcissa, Luscious, Rodolphus, Rabastan are all made about 6 or 7 years younger so they're all in Hogwarts when the story starts. So Bellatrix is in 7th year, Luscious is in 6th year and Narcissa is in 5th year.

I will be also be bringing some oriental culture into this fanfic, 'cause I love it ^.^ Now for some **warnings**: Gore (expected a lot of blood), violence (a katana could be popping out at one point to another), mild swearing and a lot of randomness ('cause anything can happen and anything goes).

I hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 001 – At a Lost...

September 1st, a Monday, everyone was busy with tearful goodbyes, squealing hello, tired hauling and searching for the perfect seat. The Marauders, made up of a bespectacled Qudditich Captain, James Potter; a wild skirt chaser, Sirius Black; a docile werewolf Prefect, Remus Lupin; and a chubbier boy who worshipped the first two, Peter Pettigrew. They had settled in their usual compartment as the train pulled out. Remus was in the Prefect compartment, getting some information he needed for his duties.

"Hey, did you just see that girl that passed by?" James asked, nudging Sirius with his elbow. She was a rather short girl who walked by, already dressed in her uniform. They only noticed her charming beauty, long black hair and snow white complexion.

"Yeah, I was thinking on making her my next target," Siruis grinned. "Hmm...Wonder why I haven't noticed her before...." They shrugged her off.

"She looked about our age," Remus commented before going to a seat by the window, having just finished his meeting with the other Prefects of Hogwarts. He pulled out a book and began reading.

"Have you heard from your little sister over the summer?" Peter asked curiously.

Sirius looked out of the window with a sad expression. "No...It's been six years since I last heard from her...almost seven now...."

"She'll come around eventually," James assured, patting the glum boy's back. "She's just stubborn. She's related to you, isn't she?"

"I know that she's at least alive. She had sent a few letters to Regulus before, though rarely...."

"She can't be angry with you forever."

"I hope so, Prongs...I hope so...." They dropped the topic, since Sirius just sat there staring blankly at his twiddling thumbs. James pulled out a deck of cards and they broke into a game of Exploding Snap.

**

After the filling feast, everyone made their way to their dorms. Remus led the Gryffindors to the Gryffindor Tower and told them the necessary password, Felix Felicis.

Spotting the girl from the train in the Gryffindor common room, Sirius smirked. She was sitting in front of the fireplace on the couch, looking at some picture album. He sat down next to her, placing his hand over her delicate one which was rested on the book "Hey there babe. I see that you're a new face here. Would you like me to show you around?" he asked smoothly in a lower voice, putting his other arm around her shoulders.

The new girl was quiet, moving her head to see where he was touching her. Her silky black hair cascaded down her back to her waist as her neatly cut fringe slightly did her powder grey eyes. Her skin was like milk, pale and smooth. Her figure was perfect with curves: lengthy legs, a noticeable bum, thin waist, slightly large bust, narrow shoulders and a heart shaped face. Ice cold eyes looked up into the storm grey ones of Siruis' and then her plump, powder pink lips pursed angrily.

The next thing Sirius knew was a loud smack and a sharp pain on his cheek. He was slapped so hard that his head snapped to the side. The girl snapped her book shut, shot up and stormed up the steps angrily. He was shocked. He didn't understand what happened. "...What the bloody hell...?"

"You got three sentences out and she slapped you like you pranked her, mate," James summarized. "Let's get her good. No one messes with the Marauders. Come on, mate. Let's get cleaned up and plan something."

"Yeah, sure..." Sirius said, getting up. His cheek still stung. 'I should right to Celeste soon. Maybe during breakfast....I hope she answers this time....'

**

The next morning at breakfast in the Great Hall, a single black owl flew down the Gryffindor table and dropped a horrifying red letter in front of Sirius, who was in the mist of writing his younger sister a letter. "...Is that from your mother, Sirius?" Peter asked. "It's a Howler....You should open it. It'll explode soon."

Sirius gulped as the hall was silent, waiting for the humiliating letter to be opened. He gently pried the wax seal open, hoping that it would stay still.

"Sirius Black the Third!" yelled a lowish female voice of a softer tone. It was a magical voice that sounded like the most pleasant music, but even then, one could hear the seething anger behind it. The red envelope rose and turned into something like a mouth with a hissing tongue. "How _dare_ you treat me like that?! Your own blood _sister_!! I am so utterly appalled with you! I cannot even consider that I am associated to such a prick! If you ever lay a hand on me again, Sirius, I will personally send you to the ward!" The voice paused, allowing the message to sink in. "Oh another thing, quit wasting parchment on the letters you send. I have never opened them. Here, take them back."

With that, there were two thuds from two piles of letters tied together. There were enough to stack up to at least a meter. The red menace torn itself up as Sirius cocked his head back to see the girl he had hit on the night before, the one who slapped him harshly. The cold grey eyes glanced down at his and the girl straightened up. She spun on her heels and elegantly walked out of the room, her shoes lightly clicking in the silent hall.

Sirius stared blankly at all the letters he had sent to the girl in front of him. They were stacked neatly and tied with care. They were all the worried and apologetic words he spilled on the papers. He glanced back to the doors to see the girl turn away.

"What did you do to sis?!" Regulus demanded angrily, lifting Sirius a little by the collar.

"I thought she was still in Beauxbatons..." Sirius said softly.

"Didn't she send you a letter, saying she was transferring to Hogwarts?"

Sirius shook his head. A feeling of abandonment washed over him. "That was the first time I heard from her since...."

"You're absolutely useless!" Regulus roughly dropped the brother, who was still in shock. "Don't go near her! You screwed her up enough as it was!" Regulus loved his sister. She always sung him to sleep when he woke of a nightmare. She took care of him. That was until six years ago. The youngest ran out to look for the girl.

Sirius also got up and ran out of the hall with the Marauders following him.

**

First class was Potions with Slughorn. He talked on about different potions. The people taking it were nervous around the new Black in sixth year. She didn't feel as terrifying as she did in the Great Hall, but she was just as cold. There was no warmth to her at all and even the Slytherin Purebloods could not match her aura. The professor went on about Felix Felicis as a reward for making the potion Draught of Living Death. The class separated and got down to work.

The girl was working quietly at the Gryffindor table. Her fingers were nimble and quick. She worked with complete efficiency, surprising everyone. She didn't mind getting her hands dirty but she was delicate enough to keep her hands clean without slowing her down.

Alexia Cross, Lily Evans, and Remus Lupin also shared the table with her. They were uncomfortable around her since she was capable of humiliating Sirius like she did. Then again, she was a Black, raised by their deranged parents. Lily was working smoothly through the instruction, only getting stumped with trying to cut the sopophorous bean. Alexia was asking Remus, who was flustered struggling with the potion, for help every two seconds so the boy had literally two potions to make on his own.

Within forty minutes, the girl was finished and spent the rest of the time staring out the window. Severus Snape finished ten minutes later and they both received the Felix Felicis. The girl stared at the bottle before pocketing it. She was brought aside by Slughorn and even he was uneasy with her icy eyes.

"Celeste Black. Welcome to Hogwarts. It's too bad that you weren't sorted into Slytherin. Your parents are taking it well, I suppose?" he asked her.

The girl shrugged. "Well enough, I suppose," she answered offhandedly. "It was slightly expected with my brother and all. They did have high hopes that I would make it into Slytherin though."

"That's too bad, ain't it?" The man thought for a moment. "...Say, I looked over your marks in Beauxbotans as well and you were top of class. I have meetings with select student members. I would like it if you came to them."

"It will have to depend on my schedule and work load, Professor Slughorn."

"Come when you can then, Celeste."

"Of course. Will that be all?"

"Yes, quite."

"Have a good day then, professor." With that, the girl left the room with grace.

**

Classes went on as did dinner and Sirius hadn't had a chance to approach Celeste. He finally succeeded with his friend, corning the girl on the third floor. She was able to keep her cool, glancing over the four boys before staring into her brother's eyes. "Are you such a coward that you need your friends to corner me, Sirius?" she asked evenly with a slightly scoffing smile. His name was said in such warmthless hate that it made the boy shiver. She rested a hand on her hip as the other dangled by her messenger bag. "You haven't changed from when I last saw you. Though...you're finally taller than me."

Sirius was taken aback by the viciousness in the steely eyes. He didn't recognise her at all anymore. His stormy eyes searched the girl before him for his younger twin, who was over a head shorter than him. His friends watched him for his next move but he made none.

"Hmph, you are wasting my time. Unlike you, I rather be doing something else. So, if you would, step aside," she said without breaking eye contact. Unnerved, Sirius moved aside and she went down the steps. "Have a good night, boys."

"What was that, Padfoot?! You've been chasing the bloody girl all day and when you finally get hold of her, you let her walk?! Just like that!?" James yelled.

"Don't talk about my twin like that!" Sirius snapped.

"She doesn't care about you, Pads!"

"She would have read your letters at least if she cared," Peter added.

"She's like the rest of your family! Forget her!"

Sirius collapsed. "It's all my fault she's like this..." he moaned, burying his face in his hands with tears from his eyes.

"What...?" James stopped himself. "Come on, mate. Tell us all about in our room."

They hurried their friend there and set him on his bed. "What do you mean this is _your_ fault, Sirius?" Remus asked with his arm around the other's shoulder.

"We believed in the same things. She believed them more strongly than I did."

"So what happened?"

"...Six years ago...Celeste completely stepped out of line and was punished harshly....I did nothing but watch...I was scared of that they'd do the same to me....She cried for my help...I never did step in....I helped her afterwards though....She always helped me out, even if she was tortured for it....Celeste was such a kind hearted girl...loved everyone.

"That night, before she could even gather herself she was flooed off to France and attended Beauxbatons to get some manners drilled into her." Sirius choked. "I didn't contact her for a year, until I came to Hogwarts. I sent her letters telling her everything and how sorry I was...."

"So she wasn't this cold before?" Peter asked.

"No, never!" Sirius snapped. "She was so cheerful and happy, even with all the things Mum and Dad did to her. We were so close then! We even slept in the same bed until she was sent away...." He buried his head into Remus' shoulder. "They were so much meaner to her. They even used the Cruciatus Curse for hours on her in the end....

"They thought she influenced me, and she did. What she said made sense, but she never talked about what she thought with Regulus. She didn't want him to suffer with us....It's my entire fault. I should have done something....

"Now look at her! There's nothing left that I know of her besides her name. There's no warmth to her at all. It's like she's spent the last six years with Dementors....I have to make it up to her....I can't see her like this, and worse of all she's here. With all the people she dislikes and me. She has every right to be so angry with me...."

"Then let's take things slowly," Remus suggested. "What does she like?"

"Chocolate!" Sirius exclaimed. "She loves chocolates! We always fought over them as kids."

"Well that's a start. Give her a box."

"Yeah!" Sirius grabbed one from Remus' stash. He raced down the steps and found Celeste sitting by the window, watching the starry sky. "Celeste..." he called softly. The girl turned from the window and looked up at her twin. "I remembered that you loved chocolates...and I just happened to have a box of them." Celeste glanced down at the box for a moment. "Here. They're for you."

"I don't eat chocolates," Celeste stated blankly.

"What...? When?" Sirius choked out.

"Years ago." She stood up. "It hurts when I see them so I stopped." She side stepped him but stopped in mid-stride. "Give up, Sirius. The helpless little girl died five years ago. Don't go looking for her. You'll only be disappointed," she whispered. "She waited for a year, broken and lost. She waited patiently."


	2. Flashes of the Past

Chapter 002 – Flashes of the Past...

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Celeste?" Luscious smirked, standing beside her before she sat down for breakfast.

"Mmm, it has been a while, Malfoy," the girl agreed.

"I see you finally learned some manners, which is more than I can say for your brother," the blond huffed. "You even ended up in Gryffindor. Can the two of you disgrace your name anymore?"

Celeste shrugged. "We came from the same egg, Malfoy."

"It's nice to know my fiancée is no longer the little trouble maker." He tucked some of her long hair behind her left ear. "You made a wise choice in not following that blood-traitor's footsteps. With the stunt you pulled on him, the two of us can get along very well." He pulled Celeste flush against him and the next thing he knew was a sharp smack ringing at his ears. He was on the floor from the girl's stinging slap.

"I don't like being touched, especially in such a manner. It is not proper in the least," Celeste stated with an almost unnoticeable smirk. "And if you would please, keep your hands to yourself. I don't want to get some sort of disease for you. I also doubt that this arranged marriage will last for another month, so you should start looking for a girlfriend, Malfoy. Hopefully you'll find one." Celeste walked away, saying, "I've lost my appetite."

Luscious growled angrily. He drew his wand and flicked it at the girl "_Diffindo_," he muttered.

Without looking behind her, Celeste twirled her wand out, and the spell was reflected. She glanced back and huffed. "At least you look more like a man than a second ago. Good job on giving yourself a much needed trim."

"10 points from Gryffindor and Slytherin," McGonagall said, coming up to the two. Luscious was too busy gawking at his shoulder length hair to give the woman any attention.

Celeste gave an innocent lost looking face. "Am I being punished for defending myself?" she asked, sounding scared. "Last time, Mr. Malfoy came close to me, I ended up with a broken arm...I have no clue what could have happened," she sniffled a little with tears falling. "I was doing what I could to protect myself from the pain of broken bones again." She wiped her eyes gingerly with her delicate fingers.

"Wait, was that why your arm was broken back then, Sis?" Regulus asked, wrapping his arm around the smaller framed girl before Sirius had the chance to. Celeste nodded, sobbing a little. "I thought you said you fell...."

Celeste nodded again. "Tossed me out the window."

"Come on, Sis. Let's get you calmed down." Regulus guided the girl out, but not before Luscious noticed a smirk on her pretty plump lips. "Shhhh...It's good to see you again, Celeste." He sat her down on a bench.

Celeste hugged him tightly and wiped her tears away which have completely stopped. "Thank you, Reg. It's nice to see you too. How have you been?"

"Sirius ran away from home that's about all that's different besides the empty hole you left among us. I've missed you, my sister." He hugged her back. "I was lost when you first left, and I wasn't allowed to send you letters...."

"I sent so many letters. Every day, but I never got a reply until a couple years ago."

"I never got them....You've changed so much."

Celeste smiled sadly. "You don't know half the story, Regulus. Don't ask about it. Just do what you have to. If you need help, well I'm here now. I might not look it, but I was a top student in Beauxbatons." She stretched out and glanced at the time. "Oh, would you look at the time. I have to get to class. I'm just as confused as every first year."

"I heard your school was a palace."

Celeste nodded. "Way too prim and proper for you dear old sister, Regulus, and it's really shinny too." She looked around. "This place suits me more. Maybe we could spend some time together before time runs out."

"...what?"

"Very soon, _that_ woman won't allow you near me, and later, I don't even know if I'll still be here." Celeste looked solemn and saddened. She patted her grown younger brother on the head and sighed. "Let's play a game of Wizard's Chess tonight. After dinner."

"...Alright, but don't you go disappearing like you did six years ago."

"I'll try. Depends on _that_ woman really. You be a good son to them, got that? But if you're doing something you don't want because of them, then you should stick to your beliefs. Don't let them influence you. You're your own person, Regulus."

"You let them change you. You're completely different."

Celeste shook her head. "I didn't change for them. I changed as my views changed." She sighed. "I have Care of Magical Creatures. It should be my favourite course. Have a good day, Regulus." With that, the girl walked off, leaving her younger brother to think about her words.

'There's no more warmth left in you, Celeste. What could have happened these last six years...?'

**

"Gather round class! I have a treat for you today," Kettleburn called to his students. He led them close to the Forbidden Forest and there, chained to a tree, was a majestic gryphen. "This is Nykephoros, a gryphen. These are dangerous creatures and very noble. One has to gain their respect before one can approach them. Would anyone like to try?"

Everyone backed away, but Celeste who began walking up to the beast, keeping eye contact. She veered into walking an arc to the eagle head, as the gryphen watched her. She approached him slowly, smoothly, but with confidence.

"Miss Black! You need to get back! You have to gain permission through a bow first! Miss Black!"

Celeste ignored the professor and stood right in front of the creature. At the same time, the gryphen leaned his head onto hers, her hand came up to stroke the sandy gold feathers, and Luscious huffed storming up to them.

"It's a stupid bird brain wouldn't know what's the difference between a slut and a respectable pureblood!" The blond flipped his short hair and suddenly found himself floating high, very high, over the ground.

"Awww, you've offended Nykeohoros, Malfoy," Celeste said, as the creature struggled against the chain, trying to tear Luscious apart. The girl's black cherry wood wand was pointed at the blond. She reached up with her left hand to calm the beast with petting, which worked. "There, there. You're plenty smart. The blond was just describing himself. No need to get angry over that," she stated with a smile.

"You! You! Argh!!" Luscious roared, thrashing about.

"You hear that?" Celeste asked. "He can't even form a full sentence." The girl turned around and looked up the boy she kept in the air. "Not everything is about blood status. It's not going to be your shield forever. You got lucky today that Nykephoros is chained up and I have enough sense to get you away from him." She placed the boy down on a tree branch, quite high off the ground. The gryphen licked her cheek and she smiled petting him.

"...That was dangerous of you, Miss Black," Kettleburn scolded. "You could have been easily attacked."

Celeste turned to him and sighed. "I guess it was dangerous. The chain is agitating him."

"That's not what I meant!

"No, of course not, professor." She rested her head on the gryphen. "I have worked with gryphen for a couple of years, so I learned to understand them." She smile was soft and gentle. Everyone could see the warmth she had when dealing with the creature.

"That's kind of what she was like before," Sirius whispered to James and Peter. "Soft, warm and loving...." He watched her longingly, as if she would shatter away forever.

"I think you should find out what happened over the last few years..." James suggested. "Something big must have happened to give her such a big personality change....You'll have to prepare yourself of finding out the worst, Sirius...."

The Black nodded solemnly, smiling a little. "I hope it's not the worst...."

They watched as Celeste fingered the chain with a distant look. The gryphen shoved her with his head and she stopped, petting the creature instead. She smiled lovingly.

"I was barely able to tame this creature, yet it looks like the two of you are the best of friends already," Kettleburn huffed slightly from the blow to his ego. He sighed. The girl was good with the gryphen, very good. He would even let the creature off his leash if the beast hadn't attacked him on several occasions.

"Eek!" Celeste squeaked when Nykephoros flung her onto his back. He had used his head, scooping her up from between her legs. "Ah! Ow...." She didn't move her head, since her beautiful hair was stuck in the chain. She jingled the chain around trying to get her hair out. "Hey, quit moving, you're making it worse, Nykephoros."

"Here, allow me closer to help you, Celeste," came Sirius' voice in a whisper.

"I don't need _your_ help. I never will need _your_ help," the girl growled, trying to move away.

"Just let me untangle your hair. I know how you hate to wreck it," he insisted, getting his hands into her hair.

"Then you should know that I don't like other people touching my hair either," she hissed venomously. She used her wand and quickly cut the trapped hair. The gryphen shoved Sirius away with his head. "Stop it," Celeste told the creature and hopped off his back.

She walked away and the beast swiped his talon at her, flinging the small girl against his front. Trapping the girl, he roared at anyone who tried to approach, which was mainly three Marauders and their teacher. Sirius was worried for her safety and his friends were worried for his. Kettleburn didn't need a Pureblood witch dead in this class, especially not a member of the head family of the Blacks.

"I'm not in the mood for your games," Celeste said, pushing the leg away from her waist. She began walking off, and again the gryphen tried getting her back. She whirled around and the beast backed away in fear.

The iciness in the pale eyes disturbed the creature and confused him more. The sweet girl from moments ago was completely lost. Huffing, Celeste walked over to a rock close by and sat down on it. Everyone was frozen, watching the girl for her next move. They shivered with the cold feeling sinking into them.

"Professor Kettleburn," came her icy voice. "Is there anything else to this lesson?"

"Oh...uhh...no, that's all for today. Yes, class is dismissed. I need to get this beast away before he hurts someone."

Celeste stared blankly and sighed. "That was not a smart thing to call him, professor." She stood up and walked over to the creature. She undid the chain and looked back at the man. "Where do I take him to?" asked the girl.

"Oh, this way please, Miss Black," the older man said, leading her off as the students stayed frozen. Celeste, without using any commands at all, walked with the gryphen beside her as she followed the professor.

**

"...You still have the same disastrous playing style, Sis...." Regulus sighed, shaking his head at the random, thoughtless even, order that sprouted out of his sister's mouth at the chess piece. "Seriously, you need to put some thought into your moves or you'll lose."

Celeste shrugged. "Come on, I'm waiting for your move."

"It's hard to read what you do next since you don't a have strategy...." He scanned the board and gave an order. "You'd make a horrid general or war strategist."

"On the contrary, young one," the girl said with a smirk. "My randomness will also set my opponent in a maze of confusion, which will undeniably lead to their defeat, as you shall remember." Her smirk grew. "Queen to E-5. Checkmate, Regulus."

The boy scanned the board with hard eyes. There was no move left for him to save his king. All the girl's pieces were either there to kill his king where he was or anywhere he could have gone. His head dropped onto the table next to them, earning some looks from the other occupants of the Great Hall at the moment. His hand knocked over his king as his defeat. "I'm never playing against you again."

"Don't be such a sour puss," Celeste said with a smile. The boy sighed a little. His sister usually broke out laughing after such a game, but here she was, with no laughter. "...I haven't played this since....Too brutish for a lady, says the Beauxbatons."

"Oh, how did you ever survive that shining palace, Celeste?" Regulus joked.

"Who said I survived?" Celeste asked back in a dead serious voice. "I'm just your average vengeful ghost, just waiting to pounce."

"You almost had me going there. You're still a good player as usual." He sat up. "Well, I have some homework to get to. O.W.L.s preparation has started already. Did you taken them yet? I heard that the Beauxbatons take them a year later than Hogwarts."

"They do," Celeste answered. "But I took them last semester so I could transfer here."

"What?! How'd you do? You were under prepared, right?"

"I did fine. But you should pay attention in class, it helps."

"Why the sudden decision to transfer?"

"That is for me to know...."

"And for me to find out?"

"Nope. You keep your nose out of my business, Regulus," Celeste warned darkly, standing up. "Good night, Reg." She placed a small box with a parchment on the table next to the boy, as she left the Great Hall.

'What's this?' He picked up the parchment, pocketing the box.

_Don't let anyone find this. Use it when you're alone. A gift, you can say. Don't come looking for me. P.S. Good bye, Regulus._ The note read, written in the girl's fabulously beautiful calligraphy. Regulus' head flew up, looking for the elegant figure but she was long gone.

'What is going on, Celeste...?'


	3. Transformations

Chapter 003 – Transformations...

"Celeste! What happened to your hair?!" Sirius gasped, coming into the common room.

"...What's it to you, _Sirius_?" the girl spat, turning away from the moonless sky.

"Your...Your hair!"

Celeste rolled her eyes. "Could you make a little sense?"

"You cut it short!" he gasped, confusing everyone.

"So?" The girl stood up, walking to the stairs.

Sirius grabbed her hand. "You love your hair!"

"Unhand me." With surprising strength, she flung her arm out of his grasp.

"You've changed...."

"So you finally noticed? Gosh, I can't believe that we're twins." She stormed upstairs leaving the boy, staring at her barely shoulder length hair.

The boys rushed Sirius into their room. "There's nothing left...."

"Give her a little time," Remus said. "You said that a glimpse of her past self showed in Care of Magical Creatures, right? So it's not like the girl has gone completely away." He patted the boy on the shoulder.

"...Hey, you know this morning, how she slapped Malfoy to the ground?" Peter asked.

"I can't believe she did that," Sirius said. "She doesn't humiliate you in front of everyone."

"She did with you."

"She's still a fast thinker. Crying in front of McGonagall like that, which is a new trick, and mentioning the broken arm. He's broken her bones on a few occasions. Sick bastard. He enjoyed her screams. Probably shocked him as much as me that she started to cry in front of everyone. Celeste had never cried in front of people before."

**

Over the next week, the Blacks didn't talk to each other. The two brothers were chasing the shadow of their sister, who was avoiding them better than spiders to a basilisk. They caught glimpses of her. Sirius saw her in classes. She never showed at the common room and at meal times. They asked Lily about the girl; she mentioned that she never saw the girl in bed, though it looked used once in a while.

Sirius calmed down about her hair; most of it grew back to its waist length within two days. Regulus had a shock when she showed up in the hallway with short hair, but didn't say anything about it. To them she was too far away to reach.

Even the others Blacks noticed the girl's indifference about everything. The three sisters had different opinions about her. Bellatrix enjoyed her nastier qualities. Andromeda was beginning to worry about the disappearance of the sweet girl she grew to love. Narcissa was furious, more jealousy than anything else. Celeste had Luscious' attention with her swaying hips and elegance of a royalty. Celeste Black was his fiancée, though she said that it wouldn't be for long.

"There he goes..." Sirius noted, looking out the window after another week passed. "I hope he'll be alright tonight...."

"Probably not. We should visit when we can," James noted.

"We should not have pulled that prank so close to the full moon," Sirius sighed, since they were sitting in detention. They pulled a prank at lunch time on the Saturday and they were given detention and lines to write. Many lines left to write.

**

"What are you doing here?" Remus asked a black fox with silver tips on the paws, ears and tail. The size of the fox was much smaller than normal ones. "It's dangerous in here for tonight. Come back later," he said, picking up the creature carefully. He was usually attacked by animals. The powder grey eyes stared into his amber ones and suddenly the fox licked his face. She twisted out of the boy's grip and hopped onto the bed in the room. "Wha...?" Remus was stunned by the fox's brave action. "Look, you need to leave this place for tonight."

Just then he collapsed onto his knees, screaming pain as fur grew on skin, as his bones shifted, growing and shrinking. Howls of pain grew louder as his organs changed to fit his monstrous form of a werewolf. To his surprise, the last thing he felt was a soft wet tongue licking his face.

The fox stared up at the amber eyes of the werewolf. He roared and pawed the fox into the wall. She yelped out as she hit the wall and blood spurted from her arm. The werewolf howled and bit himself. "No!" the fox cried, transforming into the familiar girl named Celeste. "Don't do that!" she scolded, grabbing his arm and pushing his head up away from his arm. "That's not good."

The wolf snarled at her and she growled back. Taken aback, the wolf stopped his threats. She stroked his neck soothingly and stared at his wound. His head came down and rested on her shoulder. Her soft voice was whispering in his ear but he couldn't make any sense of it. The voice was making every thought of hurting anything leave him. Cocking his head to the side towards hers, he wagged his tail in pleasure as the girl was scratching his ear. When her hand stopped and he heard a sigh, he nudged the girl with his head.

"Don't bite and scratch yourself," she told him, releasing the leg. That was when the wolf noticed three large gashes on her right arm. He whimpered at her and brushed his nose against the wound. She winced a little, petting his head. "It'll heal eventually," she sighed, resting her head atop of his. He licked at it and she silently pushed him away. "That stings." She wrapped her cloak around her arm to stop the massive haemorrhage.

She went to sit on the wreck of a bed and the wolf followed her insistently. Once she was settled against the head board the wolf hopped on, curling up with his head on her lap. She spent an hour finger combing his hair. Soon she drifted off to the land of dreams. The wolf adjusted her until she was lying down, using him as a pillow for her upper body. He enjoyed the warmth of her body against his as well as her rhythmic breathing.

After a few hours, the girl was woken by the wolf, who licked her face in worry. She had been writhing and screaming in her sleep. Worried amber eyes stared into the pale ones. Celeste's breathing was shaky and her hands fisted until blood seeped out. The wolf continued to lick at her face. She smiled a little and scratched his ears.

She glanced at out the window and sighed. "I have to go now," she said softly. The wolf got up, looming over her and trying to keep her there. "Maybe I'll visit you next full moon, but no more hurting yourself, okay?" The wolf growled, not to happy with it. "...I'll sing you to sleep and then I'm going, okay? I shouldn't even be here." She playfully fought with the wolf until he was lying down. She stroked his head, neck and back while her voice echoed off the walls. Her sweet loving voice that sung a gently lullaby lulled him away. Before the song was done, the wolf was already fast asleep. She finished the song and left the wolf by himself with a gentle kiss to the forehead.

**

By the time, Remus was in his right mind, Madam Pomfrey had just appeared, as he was getting into his uniform. The woman gaped at him for awhile, making him nervous. "Not to sound offensive, but you're looking much better than you usually do, Mr. Lupin..." she commented.

"No, I agree. I only have a bite on my arm...and it's not that deep either...." Remus got to his feet while adjusting his tie. The taste and smell of blood was making him nauseous and fearful.

"Still, I would like that you spend the day in bed. You could use the sleep."

Not arguing with the nurse, he followed her into the Hospital Wing. There he received a surprise. Celeste was sitting on a bed with a bandaged arm, which she ignored as she wrote in a black leather book. She didn't even look up at them as they entered.

"Miss Black!" Poppy cried, taking Celeste's attention from the book. "You're supposed to be sleeping." The young girl sighed, shutting the book. She placed it on the night table with the silvery white quill. She shimmied down the bed and tucked herself in. "Seriously girl, does it not hurt when you use that arm?" Celeste shrugged uncaringly, making the older woman sigh. She turned her back to them and seemingly went to sleep.

"What is Miss Black doing in here?" Remus asked curiously.

"Came in about an hour ago with a bloody arm. She lost quite a lot of blood. She couldn't even walk a straight line. Claims that she fell and something gave her three cuts, but it looked more like a large animal attacked her. She definitely didn't come here immediately, which was not a smart idea; she was very close to death with all the blood she lost. I think a large dog might have attacked her, since she smelled a little like a dog..." Poppy whispered softly as she fixed his arm.

"That's strange...."

"She refuses to say anything else. That and the wound was a stubborn one to heal. She's staying for awhile to recover her blood."

Remus nodded and slipped into bed after taking a potion that had the side effect of putting him to sleep. Pomfrey left the room for breakfast, leaving the two teens alone. Suddenly, there was a sweet voice that echoed off the walls in a loving lullaby. Even through the haze of sleep, Remus recognized it as the voice he heard last night; the only thing he remembered when he was a werewolf, was that voice. But the only person in the room was Celeste Black, the ice cold twin of Sirius Black. Before more thoughts could be made, Remus was in a deep sleep, lulled there more by the voice than the potion.

**

Hours later, Remus woke and was released by Madam Pomfrey. He looked at the clock and noticed he could make it into Defence Against the Dark Arts class. He hurried along and walked into class, looking for his friends. "Hey," he greeted their shocked faces, as he sat down.

Sirius checked Remus' body, barely believing himself. "You're...Wow...."

Remus chuckled. "I can barely believe it too. I made it with only a few scratches," he whispered.

"That's great! If this happens every time, it would be even better."

Remus nodded, smiling happily. "I heard a voice last night. It was the only thing I could remember."

"A voice?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, a female's voice. It was beautiful, soft and it made me feel loved. It was like all the stress, worry and evil in the world was lifted away."

"Wow, it sounds like you're whipped, mate," James laughed.

"I heard it again in the Hospital Wing...."

"So? Who was it? Poppy?" Sirius asked, wiggling his eyebrow.

"Gross. No, she left for breakfast then....The only other person in the wing was...." He gasped, and turned to Sirius, grabbing his shoulders and then looking about the room. "Where's your sister?"

"Do you know where she is? She hasn't showed up in her classes today. It's not like her to skip...."

"...She was in the Hospital Wing....No!" Remus cried, pulling the Black down, who was trying to run out. "She's not there anymore."

"Why was she there?"

"She went there early in the morning, claimed she fell and was cut three times....Lost a lot of blood, but she's better now."

"...She's not that careless to be cut three times....She falls but always catches herself....That doesn't add up...."

"Madam Pomfrey said something similar....She thinks she was attacked by a dog in the middle of the night....Well she was healed up and had to recover her blood that she lost. She's fine, Sirius. Don't worry about her. Madam Promfrey's the best healer around."

"...Celeste is perfectly capable of healing herself," Sirius stated blankly.

"...She couldn't even walk a straight line with all the blood she lost."

"She healed herself and me when we were injured. Actually...when Celeste sung me to sleep or was comforting me her voice was just like how you described it....Nahh, can't be her. She's changed too much to keep that...."

"If she's out, then where is she? She's not here," Peter pointed out.

"Maybe she had...I don't know...I hope she's alright...."


	4. Memories of a Ten Year Old

Chapter 004 – Memories of a Ten Year Old...

In the middle of class, there was an interruption by Dumbledore. "I'm sorry for Interrupting, Pearce. But could I borrow Mr. Black for a while? It's rather urgent."

"Sure thing, Albus," the young professor answered, a friendly smile painted on his lips. With that, Dumbledore and Sirius left the room, where Regulus was waiting.

"What is this about?" Sirius asked.

"Your mother and father had come to Hogwarts," Albus started.

"Is Celeste with them?!" Sirius demanded worriedly.

The old man looked down. "She was...But your parents have left...."

"Where is she!?"

"Please calm down."

"Merlin, please don't tell me she's lying in a ditch bleeding to death again!" Sirius cried.

"She's not in a ditch, Sirius. She had a rough time and is being treated by Madam Pomfrey."

Sirius' eyes widened and he flew down the halls to the Hospital Wing as if his life and his friend's lives were counting on it. He flung the doors open to find Celeste struggling with Madam Pomfrey bathed in her own blood. The bed she was on was dyed red and the red liquid was her blood. "Celeste!"

The female twin spun around and screamed in fury. She pointed her black wand at the male twin. "Stay _away_ from me!!! _Ventus!_" A strong gust of wind blasted Sirius out of the room and into the wall outside. "_Colloportus!_" With that, the doors slammed shut, locking.

"Miss Black! Stop this! You're making it worse!" Pomfrey yelled hysterically. "Albus!!! I can barely keep my own here!"

"You have a powerful sister boys," was what Dumbledore said sadly and entered the room that was getting messier and messier by the second. Celeste was pushing Pomfrey away with her magic. Albus drew his wand and did a simple spell to see her reactions, which was to automatically block it.

Apparently Protego was the witch's most powerful spell, reflecting Albus' spell back to him. "Make them stay _away_!" she demanded angrily. She turned her body to face Dumbledore more. "At the very least keep Regulus away from anything that has to do with me," she stated, as she coughed up blood. She flicked her wand at the doors to lock them again as she fell onto the bed.

"She is one stubborn girl with a dangerous temper," Poppy sighed, hurrying with her work before the girl could retaliate again. She placed the black wand far away.

"She is a Black after all....I will deal with the boys, Poppy."

"Keep them away from here. She went wild when Sirius showed up." The nurse shook her head disapprovingly. "How could they do this to a child?"

"I'm not a child," Celeste growled, moving around trying to get away from Pomfrey. "Give back my wand. I can heal myself."

"No you can't, girl. You can barely think straight, am I right? It's too risky to try anything yourself. I'm the best healer here, so you can trust me, dear."

Celeste settled on glaring at the older woman. She did not trust anyone at all. She glanced as Dumbledore left, coughing up blood as she did. She turned her back to them when she spotted her brothers. She calmed down when the doors were shut again. She laid down and allowed the nurse to work on her torso, which was an awful mess.

"What happened?!" Sirius demanded.

"Regulus, I'm sorry to say, but your sister wants you to return to class," Dumbledore stated.

"Of course," the youngest replied. "She was always like that. Give her my best regards please."

"I will." With that, Regulus calmly left to go back to class. "Mr. Black...your twin has also requested your leave."

Sirius shook his head, putting his foot down. "I abandoned her once. I can't do that again, not after she's come back."

"...She didn't come back willingly, nor did she come back for you. She was supposed to meet your parents in the summer..."

"...She's a Death Eater now?!" Sirius cried, barging into the room. "Celeste!!!" he roared, going up to the girl and picking her up by the collar. "What have you done!? I can't believe you!!"

Celeste slapped him hard on the face, and used her other hand to shove him onto the bed across from her. "Don't touch me, Sirius!" She coughed up a massive amount of blood.

"I can't believe you've turned your back to your beliefs and became a Death Eater!" Sirius screamed.

Celeste's eyes flared in anger. "You have no right to accuse me, Sirius! You were _never_ there! _Don't_ start now! What I do is none of your business!"

"I'm your twin! What happens to you _is_ my business!"

"Oh, so it's your business what I do now, huh!? Well you could have cared _just_ little more six years ago, you jerk!" Celeste yelled, getting up from the bed. "Get out of my sight! I never wanted to see you again!"

"So you went to become a Death Eater!?"

"Yeah, sure! I'll just go do that right now! Just to piss you off more!" Celeste whirled around and headed for the doors.

Dumbledore blocked her way. "You wouldn't, would you? After risking all this, why don't you tell him the truth, Celeste?" the old man questioned.

Celeste glared at him. "He doesn't need to know anything! The git doesn't bloody care in the first place!" She pointed at Sirius. "I'm not telling him anything!" She threw up blood and fell to her knees, holding her stomach. "_Damn it_."

Dumbledore levitated her back to her bed. He and Poppy fussed about with her as Sirius gaped at the large cut down her stomach. "What happened, Dumbledore...?" Sirius asked worriedly.

"Don't you dare tell _him_!" Celeste seethed, grabbing onto Dumbledore roughly.

"He has the right to know."

"No! He doesn't!"

"Calm down, Miss Black. Or would you rather have your innards displayed in front of you again?" Poppy asked.

Celeste growled and laid down. "Get out, Sirius."

"Celeste, please be a little reasonable. Your brother is worried about you. Both of them are," Dumbledore sighed, giving Sirius a sympathetic looked.

"I don't need it," Celeste huffed. "I will never need him. I don't need anyone!"

"Celeste...Please...I'm so worried. I'm so – " Sirius was cut off by Celeste jumping for her wand and silencing him with it.

"I don't want to hear it." Celeste climbed back on the bed in a feeble manner. "I told you to give up on me, so do so already."

"You're being unreasonable, Celeste," Dumbledore stated. "He has talked so fondly of you these past years. It's a shock to him that the sister he loves so dearly has changed so much."

Celeste rolled her eyes. "I'm in a bad mood. Having your guts hung out in front of you by your blood parents can do that to a person," she sighed as if she was talking about how a person lost their cool because they didn't get enough sleep. She rolled up her sleeves. "I'm not a Death Eater...for now...anyways...."

Sirius cried at the information, approaching her. He was apologising but his voice didn't work and the girl was staring at the blanket instead of him. He took her hand in his and she snapped it out of his grip.

"You want to know what happened, right? Dumbledore...you have a Pensive, correct?" The old man nodded. Celeste summoned three jars and pulled out two strands of memories. "Let him watch this one before this one," she instructed, pulling a last memory out. "And if he's feeling up to it, this one as well." She handed the glasses over. "Don't approach me again, Sirius. Goodbye," she whispered and rolled over to sleep with her back to them.

Dumbledore guided the stunned boy to his office. "Sirius..." he called, removing the spell the girl casted.

"I'm such an idiot. How could I have accused her of being a Death Eater...?" Sirius moaned.

"She's a very smart girl and has avoided becoming one for a long while....She is a talented witch and they would very much like to collect her into their ranks. Even the Order is pushing for me to take her in. But she is too young." Dumbledore poured the first bottle into the Pensive. "You have a choice to see this or not. But let me warn you, it can get extremely graphic."

"What?"

"If these memories are anything like the ones she made with the meeting with her parents, you might not be able to keep your stomach down."

"Did they really cut her open and hang her guts out?"

Dumbledore nodded. "They've whipped her too, when I came into the room...."

Sirius looked broken. He wished he was there for her. He dunked his head into the water.

"_Where are you, bitch?!" yelled Morgan, their cousin. He stormed into a room. It was battered, blood covered and filled with instruments of muggle torture. "You can't hide, wench!" He grabbed a chained and tugged it hard. _

_Sirius gasped as he watched as his twin come flying out from under the bed. He watched as she scrambled to get up. He couldn't stop the powerful kick that sent his sister into the wall. He heard cracking and a whimper from her. _

"_You pathetic girl! How dare you have the blood of pure wizards flow through you?!" He grabbed a nasty looking whip with glass shards in it. He whipped the scantily clad girl, who had the chain shackled at her ankle tightened so she couldn't get away. _

_Sirius watched in horror as the small girl fought with everything against the older male, seven years older. He knew the fire in her eyes. This memory had to be near the beginning, when the warmth was still within her. He couldn't block out the howl of pain from his twin, who was bound tightly as Morgan had his way with her. _

"_Don't think I don't know that you've been sneaking letter to your brothers, bitch." He spat on her face and smirked at the intensity of her glare. He kicked her face and left the room. _

_Celeste struggled with the bindings until they released her. She rushed under the bed. Curious, Sirius slipped under the bed to see her scribbling furiously fast on a piece of paper. She folded it and grabbed another nearby. _

_Scurrying out of the bed, she quietly opened a floorboard, grabbing an oak wood wand. Muttering quietly, she magically made two envelopes and an owl. She tied the envelopes to the bird and sent it out the window in a hurried fashion. Mumbling spells like a mad woman, the girl healed her battered body, but since the wand didn't suit her, she was having a very difficult time. She shivered at something and hid wand, sliding back under the bed. _

_Sirius was confused but the hard grip on his heart never loosened. The letters were to him and Regulus. They were forbidden from sending letters but never punished like this, and yet, Celeste did what she could to send letters. Even suffering through a wand that disagreed with her and a cousin that tortured her, she still cared for the two of them. He read a few lines of the letter to him, which asked him how he was and how she missed him. Regulus' letter was full of feign reassurance, even his letter had a light tone to it._

_Morgan stormed into the room again. "You really are useless!" he yelled, yanking the chain again. He dragged her down two staircases. She tried to walk on her own feet but Morgan jerked her back onto her side with the chain. "Can't let you have the pleasure of starving yourself to death. You've only eaten a couple of times since last month when you came here," he crackled as Sirius came out of the memory._

"...I...Oh Merlin....What have I done to her...?" Sirius cried. "No wonder she hates my guts. She risked a lot more to send me letters and I couldn't suck it up enough to send her one before Hogwarts...and no wonder it was too late when I finally sent her one. It's amazing she's still alive. Did you know what they've done to her?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, but I have an idea from how they've treated her this morning." He collected the memory and poured the next one. "She is a strong girl, Sirius."

"No matter how strong, a person will break under that after a week."

"She's still here, Sirius. She's pretty feisty with how she is handling you and Malfoy. She is still a sister to Regulus, though it seems like she's avoiding all of you."

"...She knew this was going to happen....She knew....and she didn't ask for help...."

"She's not one to ask for help, Sirius, you know that."

"She did...once before...the night that we separated...."

"She has a message she wants to get across to you from these memories. You'll have to bare through this."

"I don't know if I can...."

"Celeste had no choice in these, but there is something she needs to give you and this is what she has decided on."

Sirius whimpered before dunking his head in.

"_I don't want you to send anymore letters to them! They don't bloody care about you! Why else would you not get a letter?!" He crackled amusingly. "I didn't stop any of them. Not one. It's rather pathetic that they don't care about you at all. Not even a little to send a single word to you, wench. Then again, why waste your breath on such useless beings as yourself." Morgan broke another bone in her before leaving her in the cold, bloody, lifeless room. _

_Sirius knelt down next to her, trying to comfort the girl. He noticed a half burnt letter on the ground in his twin's writing. He noted the date; it was 11 months since she came to this hell hole of a home. He looked at her powder grey eyes that belonged to his beloved sister, the mothering figure in his life, his best friend and his little sister. They burned with anger as her limbs twitched about to get her wand, and then, the iciness he was familiar with now leaked into the irises. A single tear rolled out of her eyes, but that was all. They turned cold and...the hurt they held, broke Sirius' heart. They held pain and sorrow, abandonment and raw fury. _

_Celeste screamed loudly, releasing all her pent up anger. She screamed into the blanket, which was really her bed. After the fifth minute, she became the cold, icy being Sirius would find in the Hospital Wing. She grabbed her wand and healed herself up, in a manner quickly enough to replace Madam Pomfrey. She blasted the burnt letter bits, which was addressed to Sirius. _

_He sighed, this was the day he truly lost the Celeste he loved. He shivered as the event and realisation that he was what finally drove her away hit him like jumping in a lake when it was iced over. The scene faded and he came back out_.

Sirius slid to the floor. Before Dumbledore could do anything, he ran for the Hospital Wing. He needed to apologize to her. It was eating him inside out. Running past his yelling friends, he burst into the Hospital Wing to see Celeste finish tying her tie. Her eyes widened and she grabbed the black wand in fury. She flung it at him, sending him at the wall for the second time that day, but using Everte Statum as not to make a mess like earlier.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Remus casted and Celeste didn't look bothered by her wand flying out of her hand. She just grabbed the wreck people called a cloak, which was torn and caked in blood. She was also sent flying and landed awkwardly on a bed. "What kind of sister are you?!" Remus demanded. "Sirius has been trying to apologize since you sent the Howler to humiliate him! Now you throw him against the wall?!"

"Remus! Stop! She's hurt!" Sirius cried, running to Celeste, who began to hack up blood and a lot of it. "Celeste! I'm so so – "

"_Don't_ go there, Sirius!" Celeste snapped, coughing more. "I don't want to hear it!"

"Shhh. You're making it worse."

"Like you care."

"I do!" he argued, standing in front of her, as she stood up.

Celeste stared at his face blankly. "My gosh, you look ghastly," she commented unemotionally.

"...After what you showed me...who wouldn't look like this. Look, Celeste, I'm really so – "

"I said, _don't go there_," Celeste growled. "Those were clearly the best moments of that year, couldn't you tell?" Her face turned to something of a little hurt, but went back to the cold one. Sirius knew the hurt that flashed across her face was an act. "You clearly haven't finished watching them."

"I can't watch any more of it."

"You have a choice, so to say. Now go watch the last one," she snapped, and stormed out of the room, after grabbing her wand.

"Where do you think you're going, Miss Black?!" Poppy screamed. "I haven't released you yet. You're not even supposed to be out of bed with your injuries! Merlin! You opened the wound _again_!!" She spotted the boys. "Out you four!" She shooed them out and forced Celeste back in bed.


	5. Confusions

Chapter 005 – Confusions...

_Sirius was standing in Celeste's bloody room again. He heard a scream of frustration and the door open with a loud bang. She tore open the floor board and dragged the trunk out at the same time. She packed everything in it, which was mostly packed for school of Beauxbatons. She growled, leaving Sirius confused. He was confused with the bone white wand in her hand, which was covered in blood. He followed her onto the main floor._

"_I have the ring for Regulus...but what for Sirius..." she thought aloud. Her appearance was like when she first came to Hogwarts, older and colder. She dragged the trunk to the main floor with Sirius following her. "I don't have time for that. Do you have any ideas for me, Morgan?" she asked, bending down to talk with a clearly dead Morgan Black. "Useless talking with you as always," she muttered, glancing at the clock. She grabbed his keys and a few other things, like files and her black wand which was locked away. She waved it around the room and it became a huge mess. _

_She stepped into the fireplace that she first stumblde out of, grabbing a handful of Floo Powder. "Diagon Alley!" she said in a loud clear voice of hers. A smirk graced her lips as she threw down the powder when her eyes made contact with another pair. "Bye bye, Voldemort." With that, she was gone as a roar of anger came from behind Sirius, who whirled around to find the dark wizard standing furiously in the room next to Morgan. _

_Sirius gasped that his sister actually did that, as the scene changed into the busy familiar shopping area. Celeste moved along as if nothing happened. Sirius gasped as he, the one in the memory, walked right past her without recognising her. He frowned, how could he have walked past his twin just like that? Celeste seemed stunned for a moment, having noticed her twin._

_Shrugging, he heard her mutter, "He doesn't care, so why bother. I just need him to stay far away. The Death Eaters won't be too happy I killed their favourite...." She walked into the bank and emptied out Morgan's account of everything as she placed it into a new one. She put under a fake name, Midnight Lucifer. She picked up a lot of things from the apothecary, for Polyjuice potions and other things. Sirius was confused but he knew she was up to something; something very dangerous, and she wanted everyone to stay away so they were safe. She wasn't as cold as he thought. She was still a caring being. The scene faded as Sirius came back_.

"Professor Dumbledore...."

"What is it, Sirius?" the old man asked, sitting at his deck.

"I...I think you should see this memory. I can't seem to make sense of a lot of it...." Sirius said, still thoroughly shocked.

Frowning a little, the headmaster stood up. "Are you sure? Will she be angry? These are private memories."

"She doesn't have to find out, but I'm really worried. So please, take a look for me," Sirius practically begged.

"...Alright then," Dumbledore sighed, dunking his head in. Sirius waited anxiously. The old man came back with a gasp. "Oh my, this is highly confusing, Sirius."

"What's the thing she got for Regulus?"

"A little memento of herself, really. Nothing much. But she...she's in terrible danger, grave danger."

"I was afraid of that. The person who appeared in the room, that was him, wasn't it?"

"Yes...I'm afraid so. Your sister is either very brave, or very stupid."

"She's not stupid," Sirius snapped.

"I suppose not, but she's like an animal."

"She is, a very loyal and loving one."

Dumbledore smiled grimly. "Voldemort will come for her....He doesn't like to be made a fool of. I'll have people keep an eye on her. She is up to something, but I can't seem to figure out what. Do you mind if I keep this memory, Sirius? I would like to see it a few more times."

"Sure, keep it."

"Oh, and please, take Celeste's heed and stay away from her. It'll be safer for you. She's going down a very dangerous path."

"I can't! I can't possible leave her alone when she's just so close! Dumbledore! I can't! I just can't!"

"You and I can't deny that she had killed someone, and was not affected by it at all. She might even kill you herself if it meant that you stayed away. She's no longer that girl you knew as your twin, Sirius. You need to move on and stay away from her."

"Dumbledore!"

"You can't be near her around anyone you think could be linked to Voldemort. Can you at least do that?"

"...I guess. But why did you compare her to an animal?"

"An animal will fight to its last breath when cornered. She lived to tell the tale unlike your cousin. So please be careful around her, and don't try and corner her. I wouldn't want a repeat of that memory...."

"I understand, sir...."

**

"What happened to you?" Sirius asked James, who had a black eye.

"Your sister can brawl, mate..." James muttered, clearly upset.

Sirius laughed, doubling over. "You saw how she slapped Malfoy to the ground. How can she be weak if she can send a person bigger than herself to the floor? I wasn't slapped as hard but she sent me flipping over a bed."

"She sent him to the ground," Peter confirmed, which earned him a pillow to the face.

"I'm surprised though, as kids I did the brawling on the playground."

"She got me in the ribs and arms too," James sighed, rubbing his limbs.

"Be happy she didn't use her legs, Prongs," Sirius laughed. "I did most of the brawling, but she's the one you didn't want to mess with. She sent people to the hospital when she fought, well when she used her legs. Rarely got that far."

"...Could have told me that sooner, Padfoot."

"Why did you guys fight with Celeste anyways?"

"She was being a bloody git to you."

"She's not a git!"

"You have to stop defending her. She doesn't care for you anymore!"

"She cares enough for me to not make me one of Voldemort's targets!"

"What?" they all asked.

"He's targeting her....She did something to piss him off to no end....Just before she came here, to Hogwarts."

"Brave girl..." Peter commented.

"Or stupid," Remus added.

"She is not stupid!" Sirius snapped.

"...She pissed off the darkest wizard in history."

"Well, I think she doesn't think that of him, probably thinks that our cousin was more evil after all the things he did to her."

"So you found out what happened to her?"

Sirius nodded glumly. "It's absolutely horrid what he did to her....What I did her was just as bad...." He sighed. "I want to help her out, but she seems adamant on keeping away from me. She shouldn't be left on her own. She loves company."

"...It doesn't seem like she's even trying to be friends with anyone, which Lily mentioned," Remus pointed out.

Sirius frowned. "Before six years ago you could say we were attached at the – "

"Hip?" Peter cut in snickering, and earned a pillow to the face.

"Side! What is with people cutting me off today!?" Sirius huffed. "She's not perverted!"

"How do you know? She is _your_ twin after all, and you _are_ Hogwarts' playboy."

"Argh! She has gone through enough without having that rumour started!"

"Stop it, Wormtail! And Padfoot, you need to calm down," James said, taking the reigns of the situation. "What do you have in mind, Pads? The Marauders will help you, you are one of us."

"Thanks guys," Sirius said with a grateful smile. "I don't know what I would do without you guys."

"What did she do to piss that guy off, anyways?" Remus questioned.

"Uhh...He, Dumbledore and I think that Celeste has killed that guy's favourite Death Eater, and our cousin Morgan Black. How she did it? I don't know. I don't even know if she was the killer; it doesn't seem like her to take a life and remain, well how do I put it? Remain...calm? That guy, well, she kind of spelled it out for them that she killed Morgan. And Dumbledore seems to think that she's capable of the deed for some reason."

"And you think she's not?" Peter asked.

"She's a sweet little girl!"

"I think we should stop asking things that would piss Padfoot off, Wormtail," James suggested.

"Well...there are Death Eaters in the school...so we can't just approach her and asked what she was thinking when she supposedly killed her cousin," Remus noted. "So how do we deal with getting to her?"

"I don't know," Sirius grumbled. "She doesn't want me to have anything she's planning to do. Dumbledore thinks she's up to something extremely dangerous, and is trying to figure out what."

"We'll just spirit her off to the Room of Requirements and ask her there. No one else knows how to get there, so it'll be safe," James suggested.

"Genius, mate. You're a bloody genius!" Sirius exclaimed happily, hugging his good friend tightly.

"Of course! No one else knows how to get in there, so she'll be safe from any Death Eaters."

"There's a slight problem with your plan, Prongs," Remus started, breaking the happiness. "Sirius' twin isn't exactly incapable with the wand...and she's not weak either...."

"Yeah, she put up a tough fight, even when she was so injured," Peter commented.

Sirius slapped James with a pillow. "That's for attacking Celeste when she just had her guts hung in front of her."

"What? Eww...Really?" James asked.

"Yeah....Mum and Dad did it to her."

"That's horrible," Remus added. "That's really hard to heal from emotionally. How long do you think Madam Pomfrey will keep her for? The Death Eater can get to her easier that way too."

"I don't know, but we can't see her there."

"She's a strong witch...."

"Regulus told me that she self studied for the O.W.L.s since in Beauxbatons they take it the end of their sixth year. She took them a year before her peers, and passed well enough to get into the N.E.W.T. classes she's in this year."

"We need to get to her as soon as possible then. We don't want her fall in their hands."

"But how?" Peter asked. "She's strong, really strong."

All the boys fell silent in thought. Suddenly, Remus gasped. "Have Lily talk to her. They're roommates, so they're bound to meet. She'll be hostile if any of us approach her, especially what we did to her earlier and we're always seen with Sirius...."

"Great idea!" Sirius exclaimed, hugging Remus before darting out the room. "Evans!" he called, colliding into the girl's side as he landed on the couch next to her. He wrapped his arm around the redhead.

"Oh _please_ tell me not you too!" Lily cried, prying out of Sirius' hold.

"Hey! Get your hands off my girl!" James yelled, whacking Sirius, who retracted his arm.

"I am not _your_ girl!" Lily corrected, hitting James in the stomach with her book that she was reading since he was standing in front of her. She looked over Sirius before sighing. "What do you boys want?" she asked arrogantly.

Sirius grinned and leaned in. "You know the new girl in your room this year?" he whispered softly, making Lily lean in too. The red head nodded. "She's my twin."

"It's kind of obvious when her last name is Black and with what she put in that Howler," Lily scoffed.

"Shhh!"

"What's with the secrecy?"

"I don't want anyone to know. Could you pass a message on to her for me? When you're in your room and make sure she gets it as soon as possible?"

"What? Why? Can't you do it?"

"No, she whips out her wand and sends me flying every time I try to get close to her."

"...That's a little hostile...."

"It's fine with me. She has a good reason too. Anyways, so could you?"

"I can try. She comes to bed later than everyone else and leaves before any of us wakes."

"Could you tell her...What?" Sirius asked, looking up at the sealed envelope that Remus held out to him.

"I wrote the instructions inside," Remus said with a small smile.

"Thanks mate!" Sirius said, hugging him again. He took the letter and gave it to Lily. "Just give that to Celeste and make sure she doesn't blast it apart. And that she actually reads it, when she's by herself or just the two of you."

"Oh, alright....But you owe me!" Lily said, taking the letter.

"Thanks Evans!" Sirius said, going in for a hug, but James shoved him off the couch. "Ow...that hurt." The portrait opened and a lithe girl walked into the room with her book pack on her shoulder. "Celeste! What are you doing out?!" Sirius exclaimed, scrabbling onto his feet and dashing to his twin.

Celeste backed away a few steps and looked him up and down. She peered over him to the Marauders, standing on her toes since she only came up to Sirius' collar bone. "Did you guys let him into the chocolate stash?" Sirius grabbed her bag and took it from her. "Hey!" she yelled as he went through it. She jerked it back. "Personal space, Sirius!"

"Did you sneak out of the Hospital Wing, or were you released?" Sirius demanded, taking the heavy pack.

"Why are you so hyper?" Celeste made a grab for her bag, but Sirius kept it high above her head. She puffed her cheeks out childishly and crossed her arms. "I convinced the woman to release me, if you must know."

"Is your stomach at least healed?"

Celeste nodded with a sigh. "I'm perfectly fine, Sirius. Now hand my bag back. I have a day's worth of catching up to do."

"You need rest."

"I've _been_ resting," she huffed, pulling out her wand. She rested it on his chest. "Bag, _now._"

"It's not good to work her up more, Sirius," Remus said from behind him. He grabbed the surprisingly heavy bag and slung it on his shoulder, which in turn earned him a wand pointing at his chest. "I may not look it, but I can help you with today's load. I also have to catch up my morning classes, so we could do it together, if you don't mind."

Celeste contemplated on the idea as she lowered her wand slowly. She nodded. "Okay. It's better than being stuck and confused by myself...."

Remus smiled and stepped away from her as she tried for her bag. "I'll take it." He saw the girl frown but follow him. He set the bag at a table and smiled warmly at the ice cold girl. "I have to grab my books. You can start without me." Remus headed up while the girl set out her books.

The other Marauders followed him. "What happened there?" Sirius asked.

"It's called being nice."

"But I completely thought she'd blast us when the wand came out."

"She's not as hostile as we thought." Remus gathered his books.

"I told you she's not bad," Sirius beamed.

"Wish me luck on keeping my head." Remus left the room and the other three Marauders grabbed the invisibility cloak, following their friend. "Charms?"

"Yeah," Celeste answered. She looked up for a moment. "My name is Celeste Black, the female twin of Sirius Black, but I'm sure you knew that already. What do you go by?" she asked, being completely civil and even offering her hand to him.

"Remus Lupin is my name." He took her small, smooth hand in his larger, slightly calloused hands. They shook and smoothly went into a study session.

After a while, Celeste looked up frowning. "Lupin, did you have Valery last year?" she asked softly.

Remus looked up from his essay on Dragons. "Hmm? Yes, he was here last year."

"Is he the kind of professor that likes essays the regurgitation of what he taught and what the textbook says, or the kind that lets you have an opinion?"

"He's a nice teacher, so you're allowed to have your opinion without failing. It's actually better to have an opinion but you'll have to back it up."

"Of course. Otherwise could say dealing with gryphens is like playing with a puppy," Celeste joked.

"I heard about the gryphen incident. I wish I was there."

"Don't like the class? Your friends were in the class."

"Animals don't like me too much. They tend to attack me more."

"Oh." Celeste's face dropped even with Remus' forced smile.

"What is it like to go up to a gryphen like you did?"

"Huh? Oh, I have worked with them when I was in Beauxbatons. I could read them like an open book. So I find it normal. I love creatures of all kinds, just not humans as much as one would think."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Let's just say I haven't met a lot of the right people." She smiled in a way that told the other not to press the matter.

"What's the creature you were assigned to do in Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

"Werewolves," she answered, and he felt his face drain of blood. "I'm so glad that I don't have to write a long essay on stuff I really don't believe in." She turned back to her paper and began writing at a speed that could only be achieved by drawing a straight line. Remus peeked over to see her elegant slightly fancy calligraphy that should take a lot of time to do.

"What is your opinion of werewolves?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

Celeste shrugged. "Don't get bitten, is all I can say really."

"...True...."

"I don't know why people make them out to be such monsters. They're going to make more of them attack people with the way they treat them. If the person is good, then on the full moon the wolf shouldn't be as scary as one who is seriously angered by society."

"Huh?"

"Shhh, don't tell anyone, but when I was sneaking out at night in Beaxbatons I had run ins with werewolves. Most of them have been treated really badly and lost their minds. It's not a pretty sight I tell you."

"So you don't think they're monsters?"

"Of course not. They're confused and in pain after transformations. Animals in pain will attack anything they think that would hurt them." Celeste shrugged. "It's like dealing with a mother gryphen whose pup is injured and they're injured too." She looked up and she gave a confused expression. "What? Did I say something wrong? Or are you one of those people who just believe what you read and what people tell you?"

"Oh, no. I'm not one of those. I just thought that since you were a pureblood, your views would be similar to one."

"I hate the blood status thing," Celeste growled.

"Sorry," Remus hurriedly apologised and stood up. "Umm, I need to use the bathroom. I'll be back?"

"Okay," Celeste replied and went back into writing. Remus ran into the bathroom and locked himself in.

Sirius stepped into the bathroom as the other two kept an eye on his twin. "Remus? Oh Merlin! Remus!" He hurried to the other boy who was curled up in the corner, crying. "I'm so sorry for whatever Celeste said to you." He pulled Remus into his hug, comforting the shaking body with long assuring strokes down the back. "Shhhh....let it out...."

"Sirius," Remus hiccupped, clinging onto his friend.

"You were working on the DADA essay right? What was she assigned?"

"Werewolves," Remus choked out.

"Oh Remus," Sirius whispered, pulling him closer. "You're a good person. Don't let what others tell you make you think otherwise, okay? Remus?"

"She didn't say that werewolves were monsters...Sirius...."

"She didn't?"

"No! She didn't! She said the wolf's action depends on what the human is like."

"...What...?"

"Apparently she had run ins with werewolves before and compared us to gryphens."

"What?! Did she get bitten?!"

"...I don't think so. If not, she wouldn't be in the Hospital Wing before me."

"Okay...?" Sirius patted Remus on the shoulder and pulled away. "Feel a little better?"

Remus wiped his eyes and nodded. "Thanks, Sirius. I'm sorry for crying over nothing...."

"It's not nothing. You're probably just relieved to find someone out there like us, right?"

Remus nodded and smiled. "I better get back to your twin...."

"You don't have to. I'll tell her you don't feel well and in bed."

"No, it's alright."

"Are you sure?"

"She seems like a nice person...."

"Thanks," Sirius said with a smile. He helped Remus up and washed his face. "If you need help, just give me any kind of sign. I'll be watching from the stairs, promise."

Remus smiled in thanks and made his way to the Black girl. "You're done already?"

Celeste nodded. "It was easy. If you need help, just ask." She smiled, pulling her wand as he sat. She flicked it, making him flinch, but he felt nothing. She conjured a cloth and muttered a word. She handed it to Remus. "Use that when you feel like it, should last a few hours."

"...Pardon?"

"For your eyes. They looked a little swollen. The illusion charm I used will last a couple of hours. And no, I didn't cast some spell that would leave you dying somewhere. Also, I couldn't help but peek that you had dragons assigned to you. I know them better than gryphens so if you're having trouble, you have an open book sitting next to you or myself to consult." Celeste smiled, one that almost made Remus and Sirius gasp. It was warm. There was warmth to the girl. She placed the cloth in Remus' hands and this time he gasped at the chill it gave his hands. "No one but Sirius is watching, if you want to use that," Celeste noted without much care. She pulled out the black leather book and was scribbling in it, not letting Remus close enough to read any of it.

Remus watched her for a few moments and placed the cloth on his eyes. It was cool but not freezing and it felt wondrous on his irritated eyes. She knew he had cried but said nothing of it. She even offered help in many ways. She didn't have a prejudice of werewolves either. "Thank you...."

"You can call me Celeste. It's less confusing considering all the Blacks at Hogwarts. Six, now that I'm here. It's a tad ridiculous...." She faded off with a dark look looming over her delicate features. Suddenly she smiled a little. "One day someone should shout, 'Black' in the Great Hall during a meal time and see how many of us respond."

Remus laughed. "That is something to see." Celeste nodded and went back to writing. "I'm sorry for attacking you earlier."

"Diz fine. It'z be odd if you didz't," she said with a heavy French accent that throw Remus off. "I spent six years in France. A little hard not to pick up the language. Personally, I prefer this over that. Sounds nicer on my ears."

"Sorry, that just took me by surprise. But your English is perfect."

"And I've lived here before too. Worked very hard to keep it. So there's no bitterness from me about this afternoon."

"...But I reopened your wound...."

"Don't worry about. It's gone now." She looked over to his worried and sorrowful face. "Really, it was nothing, Lupin. I also don't like to talk about it, so if you would please...."

"Okay, sorry."

"...Don't apologize over nothing. If I want an apology from you, I'll ask, 'kay?" Celeste asked. "You make me feel like I'm about to have my limb just pop off when you apologize over every little thing."

"Alright," Remus smiled, feeling himself relax. He was still slightly wary of the girl, but the iciness that he had associated with her was disappearing, replaced by a relaxed feeling. "Thank you for all the help."

"You're welcome. It's getting really late, so you better start finishing that essay."

"What if I fall asleep before hand?" Remus teased.

"...Just to be nice, since you're helping me with catching up, I'll take another peek and you'll see when you wake up," she said with a playful smile that mirrored Remus'. He smiled more, but the girl's just faded off. She was being really kind, all for this offer? It confused him, but he didn't want to dwell on it too much. She didn't really take up his offer, since he wasn't asked anything besides one question about a professor.


	6. Sun Rising in the Mist

Chapter 006 – Sun Rising in the Mist...

"Black?" called a rather drowsy voice.

"...Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I was waiting for you. I'm Lily Evans."

"Celeste Black," the pureblood replied.

"Your brother wanted me to give you something. He sounded urgent and wanted you to read it right away." Lily held out an envelope to the other. She was too tried to get up, and Celeste knew that. To the muggle-born's surprise, the Black walked up to her and took the letter. "You have to read it, or your brother is going to bother me to no end."

"Alright," Celeste sighed, exasperated. She broke the wax seal and pulled out a parchment. Her pale eyes darted through the message and a frowned appeared on her face. "Well, to stop him from bugging you, you can tell him I read the message." With that, the letter burned up.

"...I don't think he meant the letter to be burned."

"Could you just do me one favour?"

"Uh...sure...why not...?"

"Don't let anyone find out that I'm communicating with Sirius, please."

"Okay....You two are weird."

Celeste smiled a little. "Thank you." With that, she grabbed her pyjamas and left for the bathroom.

**

Sometime in the middle of the night, Remus woke to a pained howl from outside the castle. He pulled off the cool cloth from his eyes that Celeste had given him. He slipped out of bed and walked to the window, looking out over the Forbidden Forest. 'What could that be?' He heard it again and his mind jerked back to the night before. 'Who was screaming last night...? She sounded in so much pain....Like this but a little better than last night....Who could be in so much pain...?' He heard the howl again.

"Remus...?"

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Remus asked, turning away from the window.

"No, you didn't. If you're going to stand around by the window, at least cover yourself," Sirius said, wrapping his shirtless friend with a blanket. "Had a nightmare?"

Remus shook his head, glancing out the window. "Something out there is in a lot of pain...."

"It's the Forbidden Forest. You can't really help whatever it is." Sirius patted Remus on the back and guided him back onto his bed.

"What woke you up, Sirius?"

"Hmmm...? Oh...Celeste gave me a couple of memories to watch...and they weren't that pleasant...."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Remus asked, moving over to sit next to his friend.

"...She mentioned that those ones were the more pleasant ones...and seeing how she took having her guts pulled out and hung in front of her...just confirmed just how bad it got for her....They tortured her. Morgan used medieval muggle torture tools on her too. The room she slept in...was covered in blood and she slept on a thin ratty old blanket. The tools of torture were laid on in her room too. There was a bed...but I don't think it was used much...she hid underneath it."

Remus rubbing his hand on the boy's back. "She's here now....We can help her."

Sirius nodded. "She...she wrote letters to me and Regulus...We never received them nor sent any...but she still sent them...even when she was punished when caught. I couldn't even buck it up enough to send one...."

"You sent her plenty of letters, Sirius. You saw all the ones she received. She kept them and returned them to you."

"I've never sent any when I was at home. When I sent the first letter, she had already changed. She was so furious when she found out that we didn't send anything to her...."

"She's alive...you can make it right by helping her through this...." He pulled Sirius into a comforting hug. "I'll help you. James and Peter too."

"Thank you....You don't know what this means to me."

"You were there for me even after you found out what I am, this is the least I could do." They smiled at each other and parted to sleep in their own beds.

**

"What's this?" Bellatrix asked in a mocking manner as she plucked the black leather book from Celeste, who was writing in it during breakfast. Before the older woman could read it, the ink had faded away. "...It's blank...." Smirking, she pulled out her wand and pointed at it. "_Reveal your secrets_," she casted and words appeared. She crackled when Celeste groaned and stood up.

The younger girl made a grab for her book, but the youngest of the three sisters pointed a wand at Celeste's throat. "Be a good little girl for once, Star dear," Narcissa ordered in a sickly sweet voice.

Celeste returned the comment with a half smile filled with annoyance. "My name is Celeste, not _Star_. Just felt the need to mention that to you ever forgetful brain, Cissy love," said the girl in a similar tone of voice used on her. "...That's going to bruise," she muttered when the younger shoved the wand at her chest.

"What the bloody hell did you write about me?!" Bellatrix roared, and flung her wand in Celeste's face. "I'm going to kill you!" Suddenly, her wand flew out of her hand. Narcissa watched stunned and then moments later her wand flew out of her hands. Both girls turned to look at Celeste from where their wands went.

Celeste stood relaxed with her wand twirling in between her fingers. A smirk played at her beautiful lips. She reached out and grabbed the notebook, tapping her wand on the pages. "Miss Midnight would like to tell Miss Celeste Black to keep her up tight nose out of other people's books....Hmmm...Not as interesting as usual," Celeste said with a shrugged. "If you haven't realised it yet, this book is charmed to insult whoever tries to read or write in it."

"...Then why were you writing it?"

Celeste shrugged. "There are some really amusing comebacks once in a while. My friend gave it to me as a parting gift. Mentioned something about not being able to forget her with it."

"Hmph! Little blood-traitors like you are useless, like that book of yours and your friends, whoever is stupid enough to befriend the likes of you," Bellatrix huffed, which Celeste pretty much ignored.

"Aunt Walburga just blasted you off the family tree," Narcissa said loudly with a smirk on her face, since she knew everyone was watching them. "Luscious is _my_ fiancée now."

Celeste smiled beautifully at the two, making them confuse and back away. "Thank you for telling me, Narcissa. It's good to know that the blondie has no reason to do anything to me now. I hope you enjoy your marriage with him." She shut the black book with a loud snap.

The youngest seethed in rage and grabbed Celeste's tie, pulling it tighter. "Being disowened means that you're completely cut off from the Black bank accounts, Celeste. You can't live in luxury anymore. You have no wealth at all. You'll be living the low level life you are."

"...I don't need any of the Black's money, Cissy," Celeste growled, slapping her hand off the tie. "And before I forget, Narcissa, unless you decide to seriously brush up your duelling skills, I suggest you find some...one...else to point that stick at."

"How _dare_ yo – "

"Oh, and also," Celeste said, cutting Narcissa off. "Could you pass a message to _him_, Bellatrix?"

"Who's him? Luscious?" the older asked, lost.

"He's not a Malfoy. But you'll know who he is. Could you tell him that he was right about Hogwarts? I'm having a wonderful time here and the professors are great, just like he said."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?"

"I'm not all too sure if your Aunt Walburga would want me to see him. She's probably too afraid that I'd embarrassed the family, again and she wouldn't want that happening in front of _him._"

"...What?! He wouldn't want to know anything about a lowlife like you!"

Celeste shrugged her up. "Just pass the message on if he asks then. Have a good day then." She turned around and grabbed a pear. She walked down the Great Hall to the doors, and like she wasn't paying attention, she collided into Sirius, landing on her buttocks. She growled frustrated and slapped his offered hand away from her. She got up on her own and left the room.

**

"Whoa, what the hell?" Sirius pulled out four pieces of warm parchment from his pocket. "What?"

He opened it and written on the paper in a slightly tinted blue black ink. _Mr Black, please stay calm and act as if you're taking notes. Just write what you have to say. I will see it. _It was written on all the pages. He put away the other three and held onto his quill.

_Who is this?_ He wrote with a shaky hand.

_...You seriously don't recognise this calligraphy, Mr Black?_

_Celeste?_ He looked up at his twin who glared at him, but was writing with her black quill. He looked down to read the message.

_No, no, no. Don't use that here. It's not as safe as I would like it to be, since people could read over our shoulders. Midnight, refer to me as Midnight, Mr. Black._

_Then call me Mr. Padfoot instead._

_...Padfoot? Alright, Mr. Padfoot. Miss Midnight enquires about why she is needed in _there_ for?_

_Mr. Padfoot needs to talk to Miss Midnight._

_Miss Midnight asks if Mr. Padfoot's friends be there as well? _

_Yes, Mr. Padfoot's friends will be there. We want to help Miss Midnight._

_Help Miss Midnight? Miss Midnight does not need Mr. Padfoot's help._

_Please...I don't want to lose you...._

_Miss Midnight was never yours, Mr. Padfoot._

_Then can we at least talk?_

_Fine, but on my time. Mr. Padfoot will be at the location when signalled through this._

_Mr. Padfoot wishes to convey his thanks to Miss Midnight._

_Miss Midnight is only doing this once. Is Mr. Padfoot sure that no one will walk in?_

_Mr. Padfoot is absolutely positive._

_Leave the Great Hall ten minutes after Miss Midnight does. Head straight there. She will be waiting or will arrive as soon as possible._ With that, Celeste slipped the parchment away, as did Sirius, and they both looked up at Professor Binn who was still talking.

"She's coming tonight," Sirius whispered to James. "We'll have to be careful. I think she thinks she's being shadowed."

"That's great," James smiled back.

**

"When did this get here?" Celeste asked, walking up to Remus who was ushering her into an unknown room. He shut the door quickly and joined his friends on a comfortable red couch. They motioned her to the other one across from them. In between them was a table full of sweets. Celeste sat herself down, her posture perfect since her time in France. "What is this place?"

"The Room of Requirements, no one else knows of it. We just stumbled onto it last year," Sirius said with a smile. "It's very safe to talk in here, and you can trust my friends." Celeste looked over the other two she hasn't gotten a chance to scrutinise. "Peter Pettigrew at the end, and I'm living with James Potter and his parents."

"Celeste Black," she replied. "What is it that you want? What did you not understand in _don't approach me again_? I am willing to sit down and explain that to you."

"Can we please be civil here?"

"I don't have all day, Sirius. What do you want?"

"We want to help you," Remus stated.

"I don't need your help."

"What is going on, Celeste?" Sirius asked. "What are you planning? What did you piss off the darkest wizard in history?!"

"...It was either that, or say hi and let him turn me into a Death Eater. Or would you have liked it that he turned me into a Death Eater?"

"I don't want you as a Death Eater or have a menace after you! He will torture you and then kill you!"

Celeste sighed. "Voldemort is not going to kill me that fast. Morgan was more of a menace."

"You don't know him! He's just as, if not _more_, terrifying than you think!"

Celeste stood up. "You have one chance, Mr. Padfoot, to make this right between us, but that is after I finish the next phase of my plan. Do _not_ come near me before then, unless you want to know just how terrifying that man can be."

"What...?"

"He wants me, and if he knew that I cared about someone, that person will be tortured until I fall into submission. So to prevent that, stay _far_ away from me! I can take care of myself!" She whirled around and headed for the door.

"What are you planning to do? Maybe we can help," Remus suggested, grabbing onto her wrist to stop her.

"The Order," Celeste said, watching them for their reaction. "You know of them....Maybe you'll be of help after all...."

"What does the Order of the Phoenix have to do with your plan?" James asked, standing up.

"I need to get in. I haven't figured out how to get Dumbledore to make the offer. I can't be the one asking for it. And it would be nice if he disturbed a class with Death Eaters in it, to pull me out and ask. Sends a message through them to him. It's a waiting game until then...."

"You're going to gamble your life on that?!" Sirius demanded.

"For now, yes. I don't want to go through another summer in hiding."

"What if you don't get in?!"

Celeste shrugged. "I'll have something figured out. I know Voldemort a little better than you think. Now, if that is all, I must be heading to the library. And if you _must_, you can talk to me through the parchments. But only if necessary. I don't need to have more things to worry about." With that, Celeste step out of the room.

"I'm going to talk with Dumbledore," Sirius stated.

"We'll come with," James said, and with that they left also left the room.


	7. Wheels Set in Motion

Chapter 007 – Wheels Set in Motion....

Another week past with Celeste avoiding people and concentrating on her work. The Marauders spent the week trying to convince Dumbledore to allow Celeste into the Order, which they weren't even a part of and only knew of it with some serious snooping. They were told that they were all too young. The boys were waiting to graduate to join the forces but Celeste desperately needed the invite before then.

"Miss Black?" called McGonagall as she walked up to the girl during dinner. "Dumbledore would like to have a word with you," she said, loudly and clearly. Celeste raised an eyebrow in question before getting on her feet. She glanced around the room as she followed her professor out. She smiled happily, the Death Eaters she knew watched her in suspicion. "Sugar Quills. Just knock on the door when you get up there."

Celeste nodded in thanks and stepped onto the spiralling steps. She knocked on the wooden for and was asked into the office. She walked in and paused, confused by the Marauders in the office. "You called for me, Professor Dumbledore?"

"Ahh, Miss Black. How are you feeling?" the old wizard asked, motioning her to sit, which she did.

"Besides the changing staircases moving every time I touch them, I am doing fine."

"I hope that you don't mind that Sirius has allowed me to view the last of the memories that you gave him. I wish to ask you about some things connected with it."

"Alright, but I can't be sure if I could answer. I will do my best to though."

"You seem to have stocked up on plenty of ingredients and potions. I couldn't help but wonder what they are for, Miss Black."

"Having watched that memory, you must be thinking that Voldemort will try to kill me, if I could assume that."

"You may," Dumbledore nodded, as the four boys listened carefully.

"The potions are just an extra measure to keep myself safe. Though, some of them are illegal...."

"For example, the Polyjuice Potion."

Celeste nodded. "Yes, that potion has come quite handy when I have to go out. Like boarding the Hogwarts Express," she answered, smiling. "Walked right past him, and he didn't even know it was me."

"He was at the station...?"

Celeste nodded. "Which is very much like him."

"You've met Voldemort?"

"Plenty of times, sir. We played wizards chess a lot over the years."

"...Sorry, but you've lost me...."

"I was staying with his favourite...worker in France for six years. I was bound to meet Voldemort some time. He is much nicer than what the newspaper has made him sound like. I spent quite some time playing with him, mainly chess. He even helped me with my duelling skills."

"What?! He taught you!? And played chess with you?!" Sirius exclaimed, shooting up from his seat.

"Yes, it was that or Morgan has his fun, Sirius. I was rather happy to see the 'Dark Lord.' It's not like the time I spent with him was all for waste. I'm not half bad with a wand and he's not going to kill me like he would someone else if they killed Morgan."

"Sirius, please sit down, and Miss Black, please explain," Dumbledore interjected.

"The games of chess I played with Voldemort, the ones I took seriously."

"Pft, you never take that game seriously," Sirius huffed, crossing his arms and sinking into his chair.

"I do take the game seriously. When I don't, I move the king into the wide open, and so Voldemort had to bribe me into playing it with some thought."

"You don't think. You move your pieces randomly."

"Awww, and you lost every round we ever played since I learned all the rules," Celeste cooed. "And so did Voldemort. Rarely won against me in wizards chess."

"Is that so, Miss Black?" Dumbledore asked, curious.

Celeste smiled. "I can count the times I've actually lost to him on one hand. He didn't like it, but instead of killing me, he's determined to defeat me in that game. So for now, I'm safe until he can defeat me."

"...You haven't been killed yet because of that?!" Sirius gasped.

"Weird but yes," Celeste said calmly. "And I learned a lot about his movements from playing chess with him so much."

"What does that have to do with chess?"

"...Chess is a form of a battle. A battle of strategy and wits," Remus mumbled, making Celeste and Dumbledore smile.

"Yes, that is very true," Dumbledore said.

"And that was how I knew he would be at the station waiting," Celeste added.

"But if you've played so much with him, he should know you well as well."

"No, Celeste's movements on the board are too random to make any sense. You can't read her, not through wizard's chess," Sirius corrected. "It just frustrates you to play against her."

"I see....That is why you made it so far, Miss Black. You're treating this entire problem as a game, a game of wizard's chess in reality."

Celeste sighed and stared at her lap. "Yes, a game where you have to gather your pieces as well as playing them. He has the advantage of having most of his while I start with a couple....My potions, you could say, is a piece of mine...."

"Are you going to gamble the lives of the Order in a game?" Dumbledore asked darkly. "Your brother has requested that I allow you in."

"No, not at all," Celeste answered with a smile. "I don't want innocent blood on my hands, Dumbledore."

"Oh...?"

"I need the offer to get in, but I can't accept it, or deny it. I need to keep that option open."

"Please explain, Miss Black."

"I can't talk to anyone if Voldemort is going to kidnap and torture them in hopes to get me to join him. But if there was the option for me move against him completely, he wouldn't attack those people. If I accept the offer then he'll just kill everyone I know."

"So what you're saying it that he doesn't want you as an enemy, not one who isn't alone at least."

"Yes, he wants me in his ranks. I would have been Morgan's replacement."

"So he has to find out that you have been contacted by the Order, correct?"

"Yes, if that is alright with you? I can figure something out if that is not possible."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I can see why Voldemort would like you to be with him. You are quite fast on your toes and confident in yourself. Does death not scare you?"

"Once upon a time, it did scare me," Celeste replied with a smile and without hesitation. "If you need help with something, feel free to ask me. Otherwise, I will be working on making, as Sirius has so kindly put it, Voldemort frustrated with me."

"Ah, that's why he had calmed down this summer. He was trying to deal with you."

"And as long as I'm a free agent, I can help with that, but since I'm in Hogwarts at the moment. I won't be much of a distraction. For Christmas holiday, I can leave these grounds and run about for him to chase. It will give you and your friends a break."

"No, I can't ask that of you, Miss Black," Dumbledore said.

"I'm not letting you be bait, Celeste!" Sirius yelled at her. "It's too dangerous! You can die!"

Celeste sighed. "I'm not planning to let the man kill me, Sirius."

"It's too dangerous!"

"Miss Black, enjoy your time at Hogwarts," Dumbledore suggested. "You can worry about Voldemort when you are off grounds."

"Then I'll make plans for summer," Celeste said with a smile, standing up.

"How will you know if he received news of the offer?"

Celeste smiled happily. "He'll send me an angry letter, and hopefully he keeps enough of his brain so he doesn't send me a howler, announcing to the school that I know him. His 'eyes' in the school are keeping a close watch on me so I think a couple of them are downstairs waiting."

"How will you get Voldemort to know about the offer?"

"For now I know that he wants reports about me, seeing how Bellatrix is quite angered with me at the moment."

"Why did you go and piss her off anyways?" James asked.

Celeste sighed. "I need some way of keeping tabs on Voldemort. Bellatrix is easy enough to read when she's upset." She stood up stretching. "I think I know a way to speed the grapevine along," she said with a smirk.

Dumbledore also stood up. "I'm all ears, Miss Black."

"Call me Celeste, sir," she said with a playful curtsy. "And I will need your help. Would you mind showing me out and vaguely refer to some offer. Doesn't have to be the Order, he's smart enough to figure things out."

"But of course," he said with a knowing smile. He held out his elbow and Celeste took it. The boys got up to follow them. "It's best that you leave at a different time than Celeste. In case things don't go as how she planned."

"Have a little confidence, Dumbledore. I have back up plans; it's just this was the most sane one I had."

"I must hear another one of your clever plans."

Celeste shrugged. "The most amusing one is break into his home and hold something of value captive...whatever that maybe....His wand might be a good one. What do you think?"

"...Let's hope this works out, dear." They waved to the boys and left with the same knowing smiles.

"That's was creepy. It's like they're on the same page in just a meeting," Peter commented.


	8. There Your Move

Chapter 008 – There. Your Move.

"Well dear, this is where we part," Dumbledore said, coming to a stop in the hall.

Celeste unhooked her arm with him. She smiled. "I'm just glad that I wasn't in trouble."

"Ah, of course not. You're a great student here."

"Have a good night, Dumbledore."

"As to you, Celeste. I hope you take some more consideration to the offer," he said, taking his hand into her.

"Mmm, will do," she replied with a curt nod. "I'm going to go now. I have homework to do."

"Alright. Good night, Celeste." He leaned in. "Will you be alright getting back?"

"...A little outnumbered, but I did have lessons with _him_. They weren't for nothing."

"Nothing illegal now."

"Of course, never on grounds." She smiled sweetly and left. She turned the corner and was roughly shoved against the wall. "Ow, that hurt, Malfoy," Celeste hissed angrily, as he pressed up against her. "Get _off_ me."

"What _offer_ was that old man talking about, _Celeste_?" Luscious hissed back and licked her cheek.

"Ew! Malfoy!" Celeste squeaked. "That's disgusting!" She kicked him in between the thighs. "You're Narcissa's. I don't take used _things_," she spat as the blond rolled around on the floor in pain.

"Sharp little tongue this minx has, huh?" a voice crackled as a wand was shoved at Celeste's back. A hand grabbed onto the girl's shoulder and pushed her against himself. "And just as feisty as I like them."

"Lestrange..." Celeste breathed out. "...If you want to have the option to have babies, I suggest that you don't touch me."

"Luscious asked you a question. Don't make us repeat ourselves, minx," Rodolphus whispered, licking the shell of her ear while jerking her hair back. His hand came up to her neck and wrapped around her neck, stopping her from jerking away as he tongue bathed the side of her neck.

"It _has_ nothing to do with you two. _Stupefy_." With that, the other boy was lying on the ground. "I hate being touched. Keep that in mind." She twirled her black wand and put it away. She brushed herself off. "Ugh...need to hit the showers to get unknown diseases off me and maybe a visit to Madam Pomfrey for some sterilizing." She shivered, and walked off. Again, when she turned the corner was shoved against the wall, but a lot gentler. "What is with people and shoving me around...?" she growled and looked up. "...Lupin...?"

"Shhh," he hushed her, and grabbed onto her hand, dragging her up flights of stairs.

"Lupin...loosen your grip, please. You're hurting my wrist."

"Sorry," Remus whispered, but lightened up his grasp on her.

"...Where are you taking me...?"

"Here," he opened a door and pulled her in. He roughly kicked shut the door.

"The Room of Requirements can be a bathroom too?" Celeste asked amazed. She was lifted up and sat on a counter next to a sink. "Wha...?" She was looking Remus eye to eye but his head was down. He turned on the faucet and rinsed a cloth under the water. "Lupin...?" He didn't say anything in return, avoiding the pale grey eyes. He lifted the cloth and washed her face carefully. Taking great care with her left cheek and right ear, he just wouldn't look her in her eyes. "...You saw...?"

Remus froze as he rinsed the cloth again. After awhile, he started rinsing the cloth again. He lifted it up to her face to wash. "Shhh..." he hushed her.

Confused and a little scared by this, Celeste kept quiet as Remus washed her face again. She didn't move unless he moved her. She felt tension in his movements and the anger in the air. He rinsed the cloth again and Celeste watched him. He brushed her hair aside and gently shifted the cloth on her neck. Celeste shivered and shrunk away a little. Remus quickly retracted his hands at the reaction.

"Sorry," he mumbled, shifting from one foot to the other.

"I didn't ask for an apology," Celeste whispered back, shutting the tap. "I'm sorry that you had to see that, Lupin....Please...don't tell this to Sirius. He doesn't need to know." She didn't get a reply as she turned back to face him. "Please...."

"Okay..." Remus whispered weakly.

"Thank you, and thank you for this," she said, taking the wet cloth from his shaking hands. She roughly rubbed her neck with it before setting it aside. "You're angry," she stated. "Would you like to talk about it?" She took his hands in hers and held them lightly, rubbing them with her thumbs to calm him. "I have no one to talk to, so this will be a secret. Not that I'd say anything if I had anyone."

"...They...They shouldn't have...You're a girl....I should have...I should have stepped in...."

Celeste smiled, one of knowing and sadness. "I'm used to their behaviour. There is no point for you to be involved in such stupid matters."

"That's not right...."

"But this is life. There _is_ no right or wrong. There is light, darkness and everything in between. They picked their path, and you're taking your own. I'm not bothered by what just happened. It could have gotten much worse, but it didn't and that's a good thing. So let's think about that."

"...How can you think like that? Isn't it traumatizing?"

Celeste rested his hand on her lap, which he quickly moved away, and she tilted his chin up so he would look her in her eyes. "Six years ago, yes; it would have been, but not anymore." She smiled at him. "In darkness where no light could reach you, you either stay there in blindness or create your own light."

Remus thought on her words as she turned to the sink to wash her hands. He watched her in awe. She was so different from what she portrayed herself as. It was like the time she helped with his eyes. He spotted a comb on her other side and picked it up. He looked over her tangled black hair. "...Can I...umm...never mind...."

Celeste glanced over to him to see him placing down the brush. "You can if you want. But you'll have to calm down by the end of it, okay?"

Remus smiled a little and nodded. Celeste hopped off the counter and sat down in front of the only cushion. "No, you use the cushion. I don't need it."

"Neither do I," she joked, but moved onto it without argument. "Take all the time you need. But don't tell anyone I let you touch my hair. I rarely allow it."

"You don't have to," Remus quickly said, getting up from behind her.

"I'm letting you, so do what you want. Just don't tell."

"I wasn't going to...." He settled back down and worked the brush through the ends, making his way up slowly and untangling the knots. He was so gentle that Celeste didn't even worry about what pain there would be since he was doing such a great job of being careful of not hurting her. "Why let me though?"

"Sometimes it can be relaxing for a person to just play with something."

"Oh, thank you...."

"You're welcome, but thanks for doing this. It would have frustrated me to no end trying to undo the mess Lestrange did." Her shoulders sagged down as she relaxed out. She reached up and rubbed her neck.

"Did this happen a lot?" Remus asked shakily.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess," she sighed. "You get used to it after a while...and then you learn to deal with it. I had fun anyways, kicking Malfoy."

"...Did _he_..." Remus started and couldn't finish.

"Oh, no. Just chess and magic lessons with him really. He's not as mean as people make him out to be in my personal experiences, but that's only 'cause he lost all the time," she joked dryly. "I saw Morgan as more of a monster with all the things he did to me. Voldemort was a get away from that...._Anything_ was better than Morgan's treatment...."

"He's the reason why you don't like being touch...?"

"Yeah....At least I don't have to worry about him anymore...." She stretched out.

"Did I do that?" Remus gasped, taking her hand. "I'm so sorry."

Celeste glanced over at her purple wrist. "It's fine. I have something for it," she said, pulling out a bottle. Remus took it and started applying the yellow paste on her wrist. "I bruise very easily. So don't worry about it."

"Where are the other bruises?"

"Just treat this one," she replied, turning around and showing the hand print on her neck. "The rest are pretty hidden so there's no reason to waste the paste." She giggled a little when he was applying the paste on her neck, since she was slightly ticklish. "That feels weird on my neck...." She smiled happily. "Thank you, Lupin."

"Call me Remus."

"That is for when I officially approach the Marauders," she said, standing up. She held a hand out to Remus. "But I'll keep that in mind, Remus. I have to wait for news from Voldemort before we can talk again. Thank you for tonight. I needed it."

"You're welcome, Celeste," he said, taking her hand. She pulled him up with surprising strength, but she was skilful enough not to send him rocketing into her. "It's past curfew. I'll get you back without being caught, and then we'll part from there."

"Alright." Celeste and Remus hid and ran their way to the fat lady. They entered with a relief sigh. "A man of his word. I like that. Good night, Lupin." she said with a wink and went up to her room.

"Good night...."

**

"Shit, shit, shit," Celeste swore as she gracefully weaved in between the crowds. She smoothly dashed around the corner and hopped onto the banister. "Excuse me! Coming through!" She slide down the steps and jumped onto her feet. She ran as fast as she could out of the castle.

"Hey! Black! Care to join us for lunch?" Lily yelled over to her.

"Uhh...Maybe later, Evans," Celeste said breathily as she turned, dashing off to the right, but into the castle.

"What's her problem?" Lily asked Alexia.

"She's a cold person. More of a loner than that Snape," the other girl stated.

"_Locomotor Mortis!_" Luscious sent the spell at Celeste, who twirled her wand without glancing behind her. The spell deflected and hit Narcissa who screamed as she fell face flat. "Celeste!" the blond roared, as he chased the girl with Belltrix and Rodolphus. Everyone ran away from the group to avoid getting hit with a rampant spell.

"_Lacarbum_ _Inflamarae_!" Bellatrix shot the fire ball at the younger girl.

"Bella! We're not trying to kill her. The Lord wants information from her."

"_Aqua Eructo,_" Celeste said, flicking her wand behind her to douse the fire coming at her. She flicked her wrist, soaking her chasers and making Luscious slip. She turned down another corridor. "_Ascendio_." She rocketed upwards and cut off the spell, while catching her left hand on a railing. She hauled herself up and continued to run, as the Death Eaters raced up the steps.

"_Bombarda_!" Bellatrix yelled, as Celeste pushed off her left foot, sending her to the side. The wall to the left of the girl exploded and she flicked her wand stopping any rubble from hitting her.

"_Incarcerous!_" Rudolpus hurled the spell at the young witch, who was busy with the rubble. She was bound with the ropes, but sloppily due to her struggling. "Got yah, you little minx," he laughed.

"_Piertotum Locomotor!_" Celeste casted with the little movement she had, bringing all the suits of armours in the hall to life. The armours moved into the three's path as one freed the caster. Celeste leapt to her feet as the suits were blasted apart.

"_Everte Statum!_"

Celeste gave a startled yelp as she was thrown over a banister and was falling down over five flights. "_Spongify!_" she quickly casted below so there was a cushion of air to break her fall.

"_Aresto Momentum,_" came Dumbldore's voice and Celeste slowed down until she was gently sitting on the cushion of air she had made at the same moment. She flicked her wand and it disappeared, allowing her to smoothly land on her feet. She looked up at the three faces above, and they turned around leaving the scene. "Celeste...would you care to give me an explanation?"

Celeste faced the headmaster, breathing hard as she tried to catch her breath. "They just wanted to confirm their suspicions." She walked over to a bench and sat down, leaning against the wall. She held her head in her hands, massaging it.

"They will come for you."

"No, he'll be upset that they almost 'killed' me," she said offhandedly. "They should be off my back for a while as he tried to figure out how to get a confirmation from me." She looked up and smiled cheekily. "Sorry that I made a mess of your castle," she said softly, bowing her head.

"That can be easily cleaned," Dumbledore stated, sitting down next to her. He rested a hand her shoulder and Celeste flinched away as if his touch burned her. "Sorry, are you hurt?"

"Huh? Wha? Oh no, I'm fine," Celeste replied, finally getting her breath. "And now, I wait....It's his turn. I made my move."

"I have a question for you, my dear."

"Hmm?"

"The man...in your memory, the one you call his favourite. Were you the one who..." he didn't finish, know that people could hear them and that Celeste would know what he was talking about.

"Throwing me in Azkaban for it?" Celeste asked in a whispered, and an eerily calm smile. "He himself taught me to use the three curses and other such things. The man was far from the first."

"...Celeste...."

"I didn't enjoy it, if that's what you're wondering. Mine were quick compared to the others. Death in that place is much liked compared to the torture. I've begged for death many times, so I know what it's like to be the victim at their hands. He picked the curse and I 'accidently' use too much power sending them off. It's all I can do for them."

"...There was something amiss with that man's...."

"No magic was used by my part," Celeste said with an icy calm. "There is a reason why he wants me. My reflexes as a duellist are what he likes about me." She stood up. "It was about time I started to fight for what I believe in."

"And what is it that you believe in?"

"I want to see an end to all these prejudices. I want peace. I want to be able to walk outside and enjoy the day instead of this darkness. And for it to happen, he needs to be taken down. For now, I can buy a little time for people. But once he figures out that can't do much with you around, he'll go back to the way things were. I can help you, but I can never be officially part of anything. You just have to ask," Celeste stated and bowed. "If that is all, we have dinner to get to."


	9. The Parchments

Chapter 009 – The Parchments...

Sitting by herself under a tree, Celeste stared blankly at the sky and was thinking about her life. A loud bark caught her attention and she pried her eyes off the clouds. They landed on a large black dog, who was trotting her way with the long tail wagging happily. The animal froze once the silvery eyes landed on the large body.

"Care to join me for a little while?" she asked, reaching out. The dog ran to her rubbing the large head against her hand. The dog shoved her hand away when she checked the gender. "You're a shy one, boy." She smiled and scratched his ear. "...and you have a bad case of fleas. That must not be comfortable. Let me help you with that."

She transfigured a comb and began the task of work out the fleas and knots on the blank coat. There was some magic involved and the dog laid down, letting her comb his fur.

"You remind me of my brother," she mentioned some time after, and the dog froze. "It's like when we were little....We used to sit at the park under a large tree...." She sighed heavily, leaning on the dog and still combing him. "He's making things really difficult. I wish he would just give up on me....Really, there's nothing left that he knows in me...that and it's really dangerous for him to be close to me. Even his friends could see that it's hopeless....Then again, he is my twin. The stubbornness should be expected. You would think that after the Howler I sent, he'd stay away.

"And then there are his friends..." she sighed heavily. "They're nice friends to have, I guess....They do look out for Sirius. Potter tried socking my gut...so I palmed his eyes, since he's Sirius' friend. It's great that his friends protect him and all. I just wish they just leave me alone. Especially when my gut was cut open a while before. It was reopened so many times....

"...Oh...I do hope that Remus is alright..." Celeste said softly, finishing with the combing. She laughed at the dog which had his head cocked to the side. "Remus Lupin, one of Sirius' friends. He seems nice person. A little shy or I just intimidate him....Great with the wand. Sent me flipping over a bed twice after sending my wand flying elsewhere....Not so much with potions. They don't seem to agree with each other too often.

"Hopefully he could forget what he saw the other night. He didn't seem to take it too well....Poor guy," Celeste sighed, scratching the dog's ears. "He was really nice about it too. He didn't look to well today too...." She glanced at the sky and stood up. "Well I have to go now. There's a curfew. Maybe I'll see you around again...." She gave one last scratch and left for the castle, as the sun was almost gone.

**

Jumping at the warm parchment in his pocket, Sirius pulled out the four papers. He quickly made it so it looked like he was taking notes in History, glancing over to Celeste, who was writing.

_Finally, Mr. Padfoot notices Miss Midnight's attempts for his attention and asks of him to pass along the other three parchments to his friends._

Sirius gave the three other papers to his friends. "Look natural. She's talking through this," he said, nodding off to his twin. "Just write to reply. Got these from her.

_Miss Midnight enquires why does Mr. Potter look like a panda and why is Mr. Lupin sporting a black eye? Last she checked, they weren't in fashion._

The boys tried very hard not to break out in laughter. "She has a sense of humour," Peter pointed out. "Never thought that of her."

_Mr. Padfoot thought it nice to give them to us,_ came Remus' replied.

_Let's use our names too,_ James suggested. _Makes it more fun and official looking. I'm Prongs. He's Moony and Pettigrew is Wormtail._

_Miss Midnight is not going to bother asking why the four she's talking for have such odd names. Would Mr. Padfoot care to explain his actions?_

_Mr. Potter got his from trying to punch Miss Midnight the other day, or so Mr. Padfoot claims._

_And Mr. Moony refuses to tell Mr. Padfoot what happened the 'other night' with Miss Midnight._

_Well, it is not Mr. Moony's place to say. Mr. Padfoot should have asked Miss Midnight, instead of socking my eye._

_Wormtail also wonders what happened the 'other night'._

_...Miss Midnight is also trying to remember what 'other night'....._

_The night we were in Dumbledore's office, Mr. Moony reminds._

_Oh...Realization has dawned upon Miss Midnight, but she wonders how Mr. Padfoot heard about that particular night._

_Mr. Moony had not mentioned it._

_Mr. Padfoot has his sources and would like to know what happened. _

_Miss Midnight does not wish to share, and is it not Mr. Moony's place to say. So don't turn him into a Ponda. It was a trivial matter and should be left alone._

_But something happened, so Mr. Padfoot would like to know. _

_It was nothing, Mr. Padfoot, agreed Mr. Moony?_

_Mr. Moony replies it was nothing. _

_Mr. Wormtail inquires what a Ponda is, Miss Midnight._

_Ponda is Mr. Potter's 'Po' and panda's 'nda'. Look up and hide the parchment._

With that, Celeste slipped some parchments of notes on top of the one she was writing on. The boys hurriedly did the same as the ghost walked down the aisle. He posed a question to Celeste who smoothly replied, as if she was paying attention which was the likely case. Class was let out moments later. They packed up and left for lunch.

"So what happened?"

"Are you stupid? Why are you talking so me?" Celeste hissed. "Please leave me _alone_, Sirius. I've told you time and time again. The little girl you know is _gone_." She stormed her way down the hall.

Remus came up behind him and whispered, "She's not supposed to be nice to you at the moment. She is still waiting for word from _him_. If you have forgotten, it's dangerous anyone to be talking to her at the moment, and as she said, nothing happened."

They headed over to their usual spot and saw Celeste reading a letter. She looked stiff as she gave a heavy sigh, resting her hand on her palm. She read the letter over again, giving another heavy sigh.

"Mommy calling you home?" Luscious asked, smiling evilly from behind Celeste.

"Leave me alone unless you want to be kicked again, Malfoy," Celeste growled, folding the letter and standing up.

"Is that a threat?" he sneered.

"Nope." Celeste smiled sweetly. "It's a promise. So you still want to have an heir, I suggest you take a few steps back." She pulled her pack onto her shoulder. "You can tell Narcissa that she can relax for a week. I'll be taking a week's leave from school. Have a good day, Malfoy." She walked over to Dumbledore talking with him and headed out the door. Regulus and Sirius stood up worried. She smiled sweetly and left the Hall all together.

**

"What?! She went out there!?" Sirius screamed in Dumbledore's office. "Voldemort can get to her! She's in danger off the grounds!"

"She's already off the grounds," Dumbledore stated. "She shouldn't in Hogwarts for another week. She is on her own for those days. Celeste Black is to be off these grounds for seven days."

"...I hope she'll be alright going straight into his hands...."

Dumbledore smiled over at the Marauders. "Your younger sister is a smart and cunning girl. Just because she has been called off school, doesn't mean she is going to go to your parents. She mentioned something about finding food would be a pain. She has successfully avoided all of Voldemort's men over the summer. Have a little faith in the girl, Sirius. We can only wait here and hope for the best."

Sirius nodded. "She'll make it."

"That's the spirit. Celeste is capable of it. She is only person who talks about walking past a man who is hunting her with confidence and so offhandedly."

"Well she never thinks before she does anything...."

"Well, she could be thinking faster than you are. You never know. Oh, by the way, she asks that the four of you know bother her for the week. She'd be very busy."

"Alright."

* * *

AN: Pleaser review. ^^


	10. The Waiting Begins

Chapter 010 – The Waiting Begins...

"You guys go ahead, I want to check something at the Shrieking Shack," Remus said, as they made their way into Hogsmead the next day.

"Like?" James asked, coming to a stop.

"There was something that I saw last full moon and I've been wondering about it...."

"Would you like us to come along?" Sirius offered.

Remus shook his head. "I'll be alright on my own. I'll meet you guys in The Three Broomsticks, 'kay?"

"And I have to get something, so I'll also see the rest of you there," Sirius said. James and Peter nodded and left, as the other two wondered off

Remus made his way to the famed building. He walked up to the barbed fence when a shrill scream rang through the air. He turned his head to see a miniature fox pin down a bat, which was the one screaming. "What the!? What are you doing?!" he exclaimed, running up to the pair.

The fox, startled, jumped in surprise. She was the smooth moving creature from the night of the full moon. She leapt at the bat which was escaping her. Batting her arms at the empty air, she landed on her legs. She was upset, pawing at the ground.

Remus picked her up, being cautious of her foul mood. She ignored him until she was wrapped in his arms. She looked up at him with questioning eyes. He felt her stomach grumble angrily. "Hungry, girl?" The fox nodded with her tail wagging a little.

"Bonding with your own kind, wolf boy?" Severus sneered, walking up to Remus. Remus tightened his hold on the fox, who turned her head to watch the dark haired man approach. She glanced up the hill and growled as Luscious and Bellatrix came down towards them.

"What do we have here?" Luscious smirked, pulling out his wand. The fox leapt out of the tight hold and, quite successfully, bit through the platinum blond's belt. She pushed off his pant, landing on all fours as the pants fell to reveal snake boxers. "What the!? I'm going to skin you!"

The fox ran for it through the trees. Remus quickly followed as the Slytherins were distracted. He chased her through the dense forest, following the lithe animal who was moving like the wind. She was fast for her size and smoothly manoeuvred over, under and through the tree roots, bushes and any other obstacles while still leaving the same amount of distance between them. She kept glancing back at him, pausing for him to catch up before leaping away to perch on something else.

After ten minutes of running, the fox came to a final halt and she looked off to the direction she had been heading. When Remus came to a stop in front of her, he found out that the fox had led him back to Hogsmead. She turned back to the shack and slowly got up, tired from the day and the night before. She began her trek back.

Remus smiled and picked up the small animal which body spanned the length of his forearm and her tail was a little long for a fox but was silky and bushy, swaying as she walked. "Thank you for helping me, girl." He scratched her ears and her tail wagged happily about. "How about I treat you to something? What do you say to that?"

The fox reach up and licked his face, or what she could reach. Remus laughed, and continued to stroke her back as she settled to lay over his arm. She was one of the only animals to touch him without fear; the others being the three Marauders. She was relaxed in his arms, and even started sleeping as he walked through the streets to the Three Broomsticks. He walked in and spotted his friends. He sat next to Sirius and ordered a butterbeer, water and small slab of rawly cooked meat.

"..Is that what you went to check on?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah..." he answered nervously. "I spotted her before...."

"Why'd you bring it here though?"

"She's hungry and was trying to hunt a bat. I lost her her meal so I figure I should at least make that up to her. Snape and Malfoy came along and she pulled Malfoy's pants down," Remus said with a smirk. "Don't you think she'll get along with us well?"

"So you want to keep the fox?" Sirius asked, as the fox ate her meat.

"Maybe for a little while if she'll let me," Remus said with a smile, playing with her tail.

Sirius reached over to give a pet but the fox stopped eating and decided to growl at him. "Not to friendly is she?"

"She's eating....You get like that too."

"Do not."

"Not all the time, then."

**

That night, the boys were lying in bed. James and Peter have long fallen asleep, as Sirius tried catching the fox, who refused to be touched by anyone but Remus. The werewolf was seated on his bed watching animal dance about the room. Huffing, Sirius gave up and plopped down tiredly on his bed. The fox stared down at him, standing above his head. He stuck his tongue out at her and she returned the gesture.

"You know who this thing reminds me of, Moony?" Sirius asked, glaring at the fox. "Celeste." The fox huffed looking away. "Yeah, reminds me a lot of her. She hates being touched except for certain people." He propped himself up as the fox walked to the end of his bed. "Have you thought of a name for her yet?"

"You just gave me an idea, Padfoot. How does Midnight sound, girl?" Remus asked the creature, who barked wagging her bushy tail. "Midnight it is." He patted the spot next to him and the fox backed up a few steps. She ran and jumped across the large gap, landing lightly on her feet where she was motioned to go. She rubbed her head against his side and smoothly slipped into his lap. Remus chuckled and petted her lithe body.

"Merlin, that thing is athletic. Did you see that jump?" Sirius asked, pulling off his shirt and tucking himself in.

"I had trouble keeping up with her in the forest. She always waited for me to catch up."

"I guess if you're so small, you have to be fast, or you'd be food."

Remus nodded, also riding himself off his shirt and tucking in. He patted the spot by his stomach and the fox hesitantly slipped against him. She curled up resting her head on her paws. "Good night, Sirius. Good night, Midnight."

"Hey Remus?"

"Hmm?"

"How hard do you think it to run away from Voldemort?"

"...I don't know....Difficult I guess. You have no way of telling who's on which side and there's the Imperious Curse too....But she _did_ get through the summer on her own."

"Yeah...but she's all alone out there with no one to watch her back."

"True....Then again, it might be better to be alone for her. She doesn't have to worry about the person betraying her to Voldemort...or of the Imperious Curse. Maybe that's why she's being so cold to everyone."

"Maybe...Thanks Moony. Good night," Sirius mumbled, as Midnight snuggled closer to Remus. He waited until their breaths evened out and slipped out of bed. He picked up something from his trunk and tiptoed to Remus' bed. 'Now how do you work this thing.' After a moment of fiddling there was a blinding flash.

"What's going on?" Remus asked in panic. He sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Sirius...? What are you doing?" He stared at the stormy eyes hovering above him. "...Is that a camera...? Did you just take a picture of me in my sleep...?" Midnight, who was startled awake, stared at the boy with annoyance in her pale eyes.

"Uhh....I was testing this charmed camera out..." Sirius said with a nervous smile. "I'm working on a little project for something....Sorry....I should figure this thing about before I try any more pictures...."

"..._Why_ were you taking a picture of me sleeping...?"

"Umm...You just looked so adorable with Midnight that I couldn't help myself," Sirius grinned, lying through his teeth, but not caring anyways. He didn't know why he did it in the first place.

Sighing, Remus laid back down and went to sleep, as did Sirius after putting the camera away.

**

The next night after dinner, Remus brought the little fox into the library to pick up a few novels to read. He loved to read novels since he could be in a world where he wasn't a monster. He glanced up at the fox from the back of a book. She was walking around and looking at the book spines, which surprised him.

"Midnight," he called, and the fox turned around. "Pick a book, I'll read it to you," he said. She scanned the shelf and stood on her back paws, scratching at a book spine. He walked up to her was pulled it out a little. "This one?" She nodded. 'She really understands me.' I read the title, '_Beauty and the Beast_...' Pulling it out, he glanced at the summary. '...The Beast...just like me...' he thought. "Okay. Come on." He tapped his shoulder and the lithe animal leapt there and he took out the books.

He made his way to his bed and sat down. He looked at the fox and sighed, picking up the book she picked. It was small. He opened it and patted his stomach. She curled up on it and was facing the book, which had pictures.

"_The old woman was really an enchantress, who saw that the Prince had no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous horned beast and placed a spell on everyone in the castle. Then she gave him an enchanted Mirror as his only window on the outside world. The Enchantress left behind the Rose she had offered him, which would bloom until his twenty-first year. For the spell to be broken, he must learn to love another and earn that person's love in return before the last petal fell. If not, he would remain a beast forever_."

He read on and then after a few pages, Midnight's head dropped onto him. She was asleep. Remus smiled a little and put the book away. He thought that his movement would have woken the fox but she was dead asleep. '...How do you survive in the Forbidden Forest sleeping like this?' he wondered, stroking her back. She even rolled over exposing her tummy to him in her slumber. He chuckled and scratched it for her.

"...You're in early, Remus," Sirius greeted with his arm around the waist of a wild girl, Kyra Atterberry of Hufflepuff in their year. She was on the Quidditch team as a Chaser. Her arm was on his chest, and she ignored Remus completely.

"I'm not feeling all that well...so I'm turning in early," Remus replied, flicking his wand to shut the curtains around his bed. He noticed the fox groggily lift her head, looking around the bed tiredly. He casted a silencing spell so that they didn't have to hear those two. "Better?" he asked, pulling his night shirt off leaving him in his boxers.

Midnight turned her head away before resting it on her paws. She was completely enjoying the hand that scratched her ear. Remus smiled at her and moved about until he was comfortable. He dragged her up to his chest and wrapped his arms around her lithe form. She snuggled around, trying to find a cosy position.

"I wonder how Celeste is doing out there by herself...." She licked his chin and he chuckled. "You're a beautiful fox, Midnight. I'm so glad that you're alright. I thought that I might have killed you the other night....Are you not afraid of me? I'm a monster you know?"

Midnight knocked their heads together and licked his nose. She shook her head and rested her body by his face with her tail wrapped on his neck. The light grey eyes stared into his, showing him that she's absolutely comfortable with him. She licked at his cheek and rubbed her head lovingly against him.

He petted her head and she just laid on the pillow, watching him. "That night...I sometimes can recall little bits of when I'm transformed....Some sounds, some tastes and sometimes even a couple of flickers of sight....That night...in the shack...I clearly heard a voice. I've never experienced something like that before....It was crystal clear. A female's voice that sounded like music. I didn't understand her, but I felt safe when I heard it. At first, I thought I was attacking someone, but the whispering was so calming that, for some reason, I wasn't scared.

"But...later there was such a pained screaming....It frightened me, so much. I don't think I could live with myself if I killed someone or turned them into something like me...a monster." At that word, Midnight licked at his cheek again. "...When I came to...there was the taste of blood in my mouth and there was blood on me....I was injured but it was just a small scratch....Something else there bleed a lot...." The fox licked at him still.

"It's my greatest fear....To hurt someone...to kill them...to change them into a monster." He hugged the fox. "I was so terrified when Sirius told Snape how to get into the Shrieking Shack. He found out. I thought that I'd have to drop out...but he's been told to keep quiet about it. Snape's angry about that and chooses to take his frustration out on me. But that's alright...I still get to stay here.

"I'm so lucky that Dumbledore allowed me into Hogwarts. Also that Sirius, James and Peter accept me as a friend, even after they found out....When I was bitten, it was as though my life was taken from me. But I'm so grateful to be given this chance. I'm making the most of it.

"Once I graduate...it'll be harder. It doesn't matter if I have all my N.E.W.T.s. No one will hire a werewolf. No one could love one either...." Slowly, Remus fell asleep with a couple of tears, which Midnight licked away. She watched him for awhile before settling in his arms and falling asleep.


	11. Nightmares of the Past

Chapter 011 – Nightmares of the Past...

The next morning, Remus had come down with a fever. He was stuck in bed since opening his eyes sent the world spinning. He groaned as he felt Midnight shift and jump off the bed. He thought she needed to use the bathroom and just slipped back into the land of dreams.

Ten minutes later, Celeste slipped into the room with a basket of food, water, and some other things. She softly sat on the bed and pulled out a cool towel and placed it on Remus' forehead. She poured a glass of water for him and placed some warm bread out under a blanket. She turned and smiled a little at the boy.

She sat against the headboard and ran her fingers through the sandy blond locks. He rolled into her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She almost chuckled at him. She opened her mouth and sang a gentle song. He seemed to slip in and out of sleep but was never conscious enough to figure out there was someone else in his bed, taking care of him.

The whole while Celeste kept an ear out for anyone and was always ready to transform into the fox again. "Just worrying about others, make you no monster," she whispered softly. "You don't know the true meaning of monster...."

Remus sighed deeply.

"I'd probably be starving right now, if you didn't pick me up....Thank you for your help." She brushed his bangs aside. "It would be so much easier if I could just stay your pet...." She smiled, still stroking his head. She heard a noise and sighed. She morphed into the fox and curled up next to Remus.

The door opened to reveal Sirius. He checked on his friend and noticed the basket. He frowned confused about how that had gotten there. He furrowed his brow at the towel on Remus' head. "How the hell did these get here...?" He shrugged and grabbed his Charms text book, petting Midnight on her head. "You take care of him, 'kay?"

She nodded as he ran off. She jumped onto the ground and transformed. She sat on the boys' room floor, staring at the door. She glanced at Remus and frowned. She slipped out of the room and walked into hers. She lifted her mattress and scanned the many bottles of potions that lay in her bed frame. She picked on out and made her way into the boys' room.

She popped open the cork with her teeth and spat it at the trash can. She walked up to Remus' nightstand. She poured clear liquid into his glass of water she brought him, making it green. She drew her wand and muttered a couple of words. The water cleared and she dipped the tip of her pinky into it. She tasted the contents and nodded.

She morphed into the fox and nibbled at a slab of raw meat she had taken up with his breakfast. After she was finished with her meal, Remus begun tossing and turning. She sighed and changed back. She went back to her room to grab a Sleeping Draught.

She sat him up and rested his back against her. She feed the potion to him and picked up the glass of 'water'. She made him drink that too, but he was struggling the whole time. "Drink this. It'll calm the fever," she whispered, and he drank it in his sleep, following her words. She put the glass down and rested her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

He started to lash out at some unknown attacker from his dream realm. Celeste wrapped her arms around him to stop his incessant clawing. She whispered in some nameless language. Her voice calming him, as she stroked his head.

**

"_Daddy?" I called out, looking around me. "Daddy!?" I yelled, scared. All I saw were trees and more trees. "Daddy!!" I ran off in the direction I thought I came from, but I couldn't tell. It was so dark. Luckily, there was the full moon out so I could make out some of my surroundings. "Daddy?!!"_

_I held tighter to my ball that I chased all the way here. I suddenly tripped on a root and scraped my knee. I sat up and hissed in pain from the wound. My eyes watered as I tried to stand on it. I yelped when I heard a howl. 'What was that?' I wondered. I picked up my ball and looked up since a shadow loomed over me._

_A scream ripped from my throat as a pair of glowing blue eyes met mine. A giant wolf with a drooling mouth was right in front of me. I screamed again as it paw shoved my back into the dirt. I cried as its' jaws clamped onto my shoulder. _

_I did whatever I could to try and get it away. To get it to stop biting me. I scratched at the snout. I kicked at its chest. I screamed for help as loud as I could. And then...it all stopped. The wolf backed away with a grin, before bounding off into the forest._

_I crawled along the ground in the opposite direction. I had to get away before it came back. After awhile, everything went dark. Everything swirled around and it felt as if I was falling._

_Then I came to a stop. I tried standing but I was just floating. An ice cold feeling ran over me and I felt as if I was drowning. I sputtered out the water but more kept coming in. "Drink this. It'll calm the fever," a soft voice told me. I slowly swallowed whatever was in my mouth and more came. _

_Once it stopped, it got even colder. I shivered, rubbing my limbs. I thought back to that memory of the night I was bitten. Just then, the voice was whispering something to me. It got warmer and I felt, strangely, calm. It was a female's voice, sounding so familiar, but I couldn't understand a thing said. _

_I followed the voice in the darkness. I was slowly getting tired but then a light appear. It wasn't blinding. Just a soft gently light shining. I ran towards it and came upon the field by Hagrid's Hut. It was a sunny day. No one was around. Nothing was there. It was like a ghost town._

_A warm breeze swept over me and I felt so sleepy. I laid down on the sun warmed grass and dozed off._

**

Celeste paced around the room restlessly as dinner went on and Remus was asleep peacefully. She walked from one end of the room to the next and back again. She walked up to the window and rested her forehead on the cold glass, staring at the forest longingly. 'I've been cooped up here! Ahh!' she screamed in her head, just about ready to bash her head through the glass. She stared at the reflection of Remus in the glass and sighed.

She dragged her feet over to his bed and changed back to the little fox before she slipped up and was caught by someone. She stretched out and just leapt from bed to bed, leaving Remus' untouched. The door opened after a few rounds and the other three Marauders entered the room.

"That was a tiring practice, Prongs," Sirius half whined, pulling his Quidditch uniform off, as was James. Midnight's eyes widened and she, as smoothly and as discreet as possible, made her way under Remus' blanket to hid from them.

'...I really starting to wish that I wasn't caught the other day. Actually I just wish I was never called out. No, I wish that I wasn't flooed off. Life would have been so much easier. Ow...my poor, poor tail.' She cringed when she tried to move it out from under Remus, who had just rolled over onto it just missing the rest of her. '...Then again...it's better than starving out there....Finding a place to sleep without being eating....or just generally keep warm.'

Midnight waited patiently for something good to happen, which came twenty minutes later. Remus' groaned and was walking up, so she gave a back and tried to wiggly her tail. Remus screamed, sitting up when he felt something moving under his stomach. He looked down and found Midnight stepping on her tail. She was trying to rid the invisible pins and needles that seem to be insistently stabbing her there.

"I'm sorry, girl," Remus said, massaging the tail for her. She squirmed about, not liking the feeling of her tail being all tingly. He looked up and spotted his friend and a bunch of cards exploded in their faces since they were busy gawking at him.

They all broke out in laughter, and cleaned the mess. "How are you feeling, Moony?" James asked, getting ready for bed.

"Very well, actually. I slept the whole time," Remus said, trying to get a hold of Midnight, as she tried to get to the window. He glanced at his nightstand. "Oh, thanks for bringing up breakfast."

"...I didn't."

"Me neither."

"It was already here when I came to pick up my text book..." Sirius pointed out. They looked at each other in turn as Midnight stared at the stars.

"...Maybe the House Elves?" Peter suggested.

"Maybe...."

"But why would the food still be warm? They wouldn't have up a warming charm on the food," Remus frowned, picking up a bun. He sniffed it before eating it hungrily. Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright flash. "...Sirius...what _are_ you doing? I'm eating."

"He wouldn't say. He just kept snapping pictures _all_ day," James said, shaking his head. Sirius stuck his tongue at them. "He was even snapping pictures in class, and practice."

"I said that I'm working on a project," Sirius muttered, putting the camera down. "I still haven't really figured this thing out yet." He jumped under his covers.

"Hey...did one of you stay in the room for a long while?" Remus asked and the others shook his head.

"Why?"

"No reason, I guess I was just imagining things...."

"Alright. Get some sleep so you'll be fine tomorrow. G'night."

"Okay," Remus nodded, lying back down. "Good night."

"G'night," James replied, turning of the lights and diving into his bed.

"Night," Peter said, shuffling about in his bed.

Forgotten, Midnight turned away from the starry sky and looked over the four boys. She hopped onto the floor and slipped out of the room. She walked down the halls gliding past the teachers and Prefects on patrol. She squeezed through a small hole in the wall.

She ran for the forest and transformed part way. She grabbed a broom hiding up in a tree. She kicked off the ground, jumping onto the black broom and zipping through the sky. She found a small house after a while and dove straight for it. She smiled, finding it belonging to a magical person. She snuck in and looked for the fireplace, and a name of the house. Smiling even more, she took a document and grabbed two handfuls of Floo Powder, pocketing one.

"Morgan Black." She threw the powder down and was engulfed by a green flame. She appeared in a chaotic room. Things strewn broken on the floor. She carefully walked through the mess and paused, spotting a large pool of blood. She covered her mouth and nose with the back of her hand. She collapsed onto her knees, squeezing her eyes shut.

Breathing harshly, she pushed off the ground and ran upstairs. She flung open the last door in the hall, leaning against the door frame. She slid down to sit on the ground, trying to gather herself. She picked up a whip covered in glass shards and dried blood that was lying beside her. She tossed it aside with hate.

She pulled herself up and walked up to a hole in the flooring. She reached in and pulled out an oak wood wand. Smiling reminiscently at it, she slipped it into her pocket. She reached for one of the many knives on the walls, and nicked her arm. She moved to the only clear wall in the room.

_Give up. I'm not coming to you. I don't want to see 'them' ever again._ She wrote in her blood in large lettering in her calligraphy. She stumbled through the darkness back to the fireplace. She stepped into it, drawing her black cherry wood wand. She took the handful of Floo Powder from her pocket, having guessed correctly that the Floo Powder in the house was taken.

"_Lumos Maxima_," she casted, throwing the ball of light across the room. "Diagon Alley." She had her hand held high, ready to use the powder. Suddenly, there was a snap in the room. She smiled and waved her hand in a friendly manner, as her other hand moved downwards, releasing its contents.

"Celeste! Wait!" ordered a frustrated voice of Voldemort. Green flames swallowed the girl up and he kicked an object into the fire. "Damn it!"

"Ow..." Celeste groaned, stepping out of the fireplace in Flourish and Blotts. She dropped the metal vase onto the floor. "Why'd he kick that at my head?" she muttered, rubbing the bump on her forehead. She grabbed another handful of Floo Powder. "Ministry of Magic." She disappeared again.

She ran for another fireplace and flooed into the Leaky Cauldron. She pulled out the document, and read out the proper name to get her back to the house she broke into. Grabbing the broom propped up against a nearby table, she set the paper down and exited. She hurried her way to Hogwards and stopped coming up to a barrier. She placed the broom again and morphed into a fox.

She came up to the Marauders room. She transformed back, frowning at her twin who was whimper and crying in his sleep. '...What could you be dreaming off?' she wondered, sitting on his bed. She ran her fingers through the black hair and began singing a lullaby she always had when her brothers had one of their nightmares.

Slowly he calmed and Celeste stood up. She brushed his hair aside and kissed his forehead. "Sweet dreams, Sirius...." She became the fox again and curled up on the floor to sleep.

Remus woke up shortly after to a screaming bark and found Midnight on the ground. He picked her up and stroked her back until she stopped struggling. He set her next to him under his blanket and quickly drifted to sleep.

* * *

AN: Please Review. I would like some opinions from people, plesae and thank you. ^^


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